


Tiny Monsters and Their Tinier Master

by baeconandeggs, C00kingUnic0rns



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Babysitting, College romance, Comedy, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Romantic Comedy, Slice of Life, idontknowwhattotag, slight alcohol use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-07
Updated: 2018-06-07
Packaged: 2019-05-19 12:33:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14873826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baeconandeggs/pseuds/baeconandeggs, https://archiveofourown.org/users/C00kingUnic0rns/pseuds/C00kingUnic0rns
Summary: Chanyeol finally accepted Kyungsoo’s suggestion for a part-time job of a babysitter, only when he arrives does he get to know that this isn’t babysitting, it’s zookeeping.





	Tiny Monsters and Their Tinier Master

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt #:** 060  
>  **Disclaimer: baeconandeggs/the mods is/are not the author/s of this story. Authors will be credited and tagged after reveals.** The celebrities' names/images are merely borrowed and do not represent who the celebrities are in real life. No offense is intended towards them, their families or friends. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this fictional work. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
>  **Author's Note:** Wow. This was seriously so fun to work on. My antisocial ass met new people and had awkward conversations is a scene worth laughing. Honestly, the BAE Mods are one of the best people you would ever meet. I am so sorry that I took so long to submit this and also took so many extensions but I really love you guys. You guys are the best! There are three people who helped me polish this piece of crap- N, J and A. without them, this would be nothing. You guys helped me so much and I am so thankful for your existence. Dear prompter, I don’t know if this was what you were expecting from your prompt but I really hope that I don’t disappoint you because without you, this story would not exist. Lawl. Another thanks to all the readers, I really hope this book is not a flop and that you enjoy reading this if not then...it’s fine! I would really appreciate constructive criticism. This is the first book I finished and I feel so accomplished? Idk. anyways, off to the story - >

The tall boy reached the address printed in the newspaper he had brought with him, stood in front of the door, rang the doorbell, waited for a response.

Obviously, there would be no response. It's effing 6 in the morning!

He was nervous while waiting outside, but suddenly he heard a crash coming from the inside of the house. He rang the bell continuously, yet he still didn’t get any response, so he stepped near the window, started knocking and verifying whether he can find some life inside the house -- that could pass as haunted and barren with any sign of life.

What the --

He heard another crash, and then - being a paranoid person that he is- did the first thing that came to his mind; he rushed to the front and slammed himself against the main door a few times to break it. When the door broke down, he entered the house with hurried steps and noticed pieces of shattered bowls scattered on the floor. Chanyeol heard a loud bark and realized what he just did.

_Way to make an impression, Park._

He broke into the house where he might get a job, but he’s not quite sure anymore if he'll acquire it or not. Still, Chanyeol hopes that the owner wouldn't mind the broken door. Chanyeol gets frightened at the incessant barking of the furry dog, as if indicating that he hated his presence, and ran towards the door, which was now lying on the ground with its damaged hinges. He tried to move the door aside to make way for his escape, but while doing so he noticed two dragon lizards slowly making their way towards him. Chanyeol couldn't help the string of curses leaving from his mouth, breaking his New Year’s resolution. But what was he supposed to do when there was a dog behind him still barking loudly, and two giant lizards that were barely a meter away from him? And when he thought that the situation couldn't get any worse, he felt a movement on his neck so he turned his head and found a giant, hairy tarantula sitting on his shoulder. He tried to run while flapping his long arms in order to shoo away the beasts he saw while screaming in a pitch he never thought he could reach with his deep voice, but suddenly, he trips on some object lying on the floor and hit his head hard. The last thing he saw are cat eyes glistening over him.

_I love you mom, do miss me._

If this _idiot_ thought he was dying, then he was indeed an idiot.

 

 

Chanyeol woke up feeling a weight on his chest and slowly opening his left eye. He found two wide eyes staring at him while sitting on his chest. Inspecting the object, he noted a fluffy body with a face of a mouse but with a longer body.

_Is this a new breed of mouse?_

_No, wait._

_This is…_

He screamed out loud, threw the ferret away though he did not mean to do that, and bumped his left arm on the headboard in the process. While wailing in pain, Chanyeol looked towards the door to find a short man, with a face similar to a camel, watching at him with an amused face.

"I see you are finally awake. How are you feeling?"

Chanyeol questioned back instead of answering the other, "who are you, and what are you doing in my room?"

The short man laughed saying “In ‘your room?'” It almost sounded sarcastic. "Dramatic much? I should be the one asking you that since you’re the one who broke into my house." Chanyeol then looked around his surrounding and realized that what he thought was a frightening dream was real. He could only wish that the earth would open up and swallow him right this instant.

He started to panic and hoped that the other person would try and understand his situation, "It's n-not what y-you think, I am not a b-burglar or any-anything o-of that sort."

“Then who are you? I have never seen my house that looked so lovely and joyful, now with a broken door, with all the animals out and with broken bowls… A _beautiful_ sight indeed,” the short man’s comment carried a full load of sarcasm which didn't go unnoticed by the other.

Chanyeol, feeling his palms sweating, tensed. 

_How bad can this Sunday go?_ He thought to himself.

“I am so sorry I didn’t mean to. I heard a crash inside, so I broke in to see what happened - which I shouldn't have actually done - but there was no response when I knocked so I got really worried.”

Chanyeol hoped that the stranger would believe him, “I don’t know whether to believe you or not, but I will let you go since you look like a harmless kid.”

“Umm... I am actually supposed to be here to babysit.” The taller man stutters out.

He was surprised when the stranger started laughing as if what he said was the funniest thing on earth. “Why are you laughing? I’m serious about wanting the job and the pay!” Chanyeol said, shocked at the other man’s response.

“Well, why should I hire you when you already caused a ruckus? To top it off, you barged into _my_ house which is technically a crime, also I’m not sure if I can trust you to look after the kids after what happened.” The other stated with his voice laced with disappointment.

“What? Noooo~ please give me a chance? I’m really good at babysitting, in fact I _love_ kids.” 

_Since when did I love kids? Eww._

“I will work well and please don’t report me to the police. Please,” he felt very embarrassed and awkward at the same time, as he caused chaos at the house where he was supposed to work at. He shut his eyes tight and prepared himself to be rejected and be told that he won't be working there anymore since he wrecked the house.

Chanyeol was waiting for the worst but instead was surprised when he heard the short man saying, “To repay me back for the damages you made, you need to work here and babysit properly and I will not file a report of this incident to the police. Lastly, you’ll be starting today since you’re the reason behind all these mess.” 

The man’s voice was serious but the goofy smile on his face says otherwise. Chanyeol sighed in relief and decided that it could not be that bad working with these conditions. “Thank you for giving me a chance, by the way I’m Park Chanyeol,” he introduced himself, “and I am extremely sorry for destroying your house. I hope I can make it up to you by doing my best in looking after your kids.”

“Well, hello Chanyeol. I am glad you are willing to work here. My name is Kim Jongdae, you can call me Chen, and who said anything about kids?” Chanyeol stared at him with a confused look, indicating him to continue. “Well, your tasks for today is to wash and scrub the dragon lizards and to clean the hedgehog’s cage, then you can watch over the others. You also have to refill the bunny’s bowl with baby carrots which are kept in the fridge, and also give her a bath. Mind you, she likes warm water.”

Chanyeol gives him a weird look, “I’m not sure if you understand, but I am here to babysit your _kids_ , like actual _human_ kids.” He says looking at Jongdae as if the other was joking.

“Of course, you’re here to babysit _kids_. These lovely animals are very dear to my younger brother, and he considers them as his kids,” Jongdae replied with a smile that sent shivers to Chanyeol’s spine. “Anyway, it’s always better to start early than to procrastinate. Now, chop chop!”

Jongdae directed Chanyeol to follow him downstairs but the latter can't move, as he felt rooted to the place that he was standing on, Chanyeol felt the numbness in his legs and realized that his entire body was shaking. But, he had no other option. He had to do this. He needed the pay. But still-

“Are you kidding me?! Your dog barked at me and your spider climbed on top me, plus your ferret was about to eat my face!” Chanyeol blurted out.

“Well, that’s what dogs do when they see a complete stranger break a door and enter their home, right? None of them are harmful. They are well behaved, thanks to my brother who trained them so well, and in case they do anything, you can come to me. The lizards are naughty so you need to keep an eye on them. Our dog is one of the smartest among them. You just need to play with him a lot, but mind you he has unlimited energy. The ferret is the quietest among them. Just keep in mind to feed him at the right time.” Jongdae explained, his voice full of love for the animals as he talked about them.

Chanyeol was rendered speechless, he had never thought that he would ever babysit animals. “And what about your cat?” He questioned the man, who was now leading him into the kitchen, motioning him to take a seat onto one of the chairs around the dining table.

“My cat?” Jongdae replies with curiousness in his voice.

“Yes! The one with the green eyes?”

“Oh her! She’s a stray cat. She passes by my house all the time since my brother leaves milk on the doorstep every morning. Don’t worry about her, but if she comes back again then just feed her the leftovers,” he shrugged his shoulders as he offered Chanyeol a cup of coffee.

“Fancy a biscuit?” Chanyeol stared at the plate in front of him and nodded. Jongdae left the plate on the table and started doing things around the kitchen, “I need to get to work. So, I’ll just go wake up my baby bro and he will explain you all the stuff about this mini zoo, since he is the owner of it. Enjoy your coffee.” 

Chanyeol stared at the table not knowing what to do. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket so he took it out to check who sent him a message, and saw that it was his roommate, Kyungsoo, asking him where he was. He sighed and replied,

 **TO: _Hedwig_**  
I am out. At the place where you suggested me to work. ---

 **FROM: _Hedwig_**  
Seriously?! Wow... I didn’t think that you would actually listen to me. Finally! For once.

 **TO: _Hedwig_**  
Good. Bye. PERIOD.

 **FROM: _Hedwig_**  
Ungrateful brat.

He ignored the reply and kept his old-looking phone, which is a Nokia flip phone if ever anyone is wondering, on the table as Chen waltz back in the kitchen with the dog following him behind and then followed by a human to which Chanyeol did not expect to see.

Standing under the kitchen door frame was Byun Baekhyun, the nerdiest nerd of their college and the teacher’s pet, as what people named him. The newcomer was wearing sweatpants and a shirt that was three times his normal size. Chanyeol just stared at him while the other was rubbing his eyes to wipe away the remaining sleep in his eyes.

When Baekhyun’s vision cleared, the first thing he noticed, made him gulp. He tried to ignore the fact that there was someone sitting on the chair in their kitchen, in their house, and just made his way to the Nutella jar on top of the dining table, but was stopped by a hand on his stomach.

“Not so fast, brother. You need to wash your face first before doing anything, and if you make me repeat this again tomorrow, then I am cutting down your allowance. If that’s clear in your head, then meet Chanyeol, the one kind fellow who is willing to take care of your kids.” 

Baekhyun looked over at the person and just stared right in the other’s eyes with a blank expression. On the other hand, Chen was pacing around in the kitchen, serving the dog his breakfast as he talked to Baekhyun, “I already told him what he needs to do for today, but just explain it to him again because I’m sure he didn’t get it. Anyways, take care and don’t let any of them out of their cage. I just cleaned the house last night from all the mess you created. Bye!” He kissed his brother’s cheek before Baekhyun could push him away and ran to exit the kitchen. Baekhyun glared at the door when it shut and shifted his eyes to look at the boy in front of him again.

“Uhhhh….hi?” Chanyeol greeted with an awkward smile.

 

\-------------

 

“This feels so weird. Eww,” Chanyeol said as he rinsed the soap off Geochin’s back, one of the two lizards that scared the hell out of him earlier. Don’t ask about the name of these two devils because it definitely fits them.

“You are getting paid so you better do a good job or else, I can tell my brother to lessen it,” threatened Baekhyun as he leaned against the washing machine with a towel in his hand, looking at Chanyeol with a bored expression.

“I thought I was asked to look after a kid, as in a _human_!” Chanyeol grumbled as he caught the tail of the lizard and tossed it over to Baekhyun.

“Don’t do that! Oh my god,” he felt as if his heart was stuck in his throat, but he was happy that he was able to catch his baby right on time.

“Was I informed about this? No! And don’t snap at me you midget, who knew you had a snappy and sassy side to yourself. No friends and all. Sucks to be you.” The tall man huffed as he passed by the short man who was busying himself with Nappeun, the other half of the devil duo, and took the rabbit that was busy munching its food. “A rabbit? Seriously? Who keeps this thing in their house?”

“It’s a bunny if your poor eyes can’t see, and his name is Myeonie. Also, it’s not a thing. It’s an animal.” Chanyeol could hear a hint of annoyance from the other’s voice so he just shrugged and sat on the stool to begin washing the bunny. He splashed ice-cold water on the bunny that began to struggle against his grip. “What are you doing you senseless creature?!!” Baekhyun came forward and pushed Chanyeol out of his way to take his pet out of the taller’s hand. “You’re supposed to use WARM water, you duffer! My poor baby will get a cold now just because of YOU!” he screamed and made him step aside as he sat down on the stool, changing the water temperature from ice-cold to warm.

“Just go and sit in the living room,” Baekhyun ordered while massaging the bunny’s head. Chanyeol just shrugged and put his hands inside his denim pockets as he turned on his heels heading towards the living room when a hand caught his sleeve.

“Don’t just go away, help me!” said Baekhyun while holding the bunny that was thrashing in his hands.

Chanyeol sighed, he wanted to say very mean things right now, but swallowed back his words, thinking of his wage that could be reduced if he didn’t behave well, and he really needs the pay.  
“Alright! Let’s get you cleaned up little bunny!” Chanyeol said gritting his teeth as he sat down on another stool that was beside Baekhyun to help the other to clean the bunny.

“There, there, yeah… that’s right!” Baekhyun exclaimed when the bunny let him clean him. After washing Myeonie, he dried, brushed, and groomed him. Smiling at the little fluffy creature, he nuzzled on his nose before putting him back in his cage.

“Is my work done for today?” Chanyeol asked as he looked at his watch to check the time. _What? It’s only 7:30 am? Ugh._ He really wanted to leave the place already.

“Who said your work is done? Refill this bowl with carrots and clip Mr. Nut’s nails,” Baekhyun passed him an empty bowl with tiny bits of carrot leftovers and then continued, “After you are done, come to the lawn.”

“Who the hell is Mr. Nut?” Chanyeol grumpily responded.

“The one sleeping on the couch, now go... go!” The small man did the shoo-ing motion with his hands that always gets on Chanyeol’s nerves, but he tried to zip his mouth remembering the money he needed. Chanyeol grabbed the bowl and made his way to the fridge, muttering curses under his breath at how demanding the nerd can be. He got more annoyed when he couldn’t seem to find the carrots among the huge drawer which was filled with various kinds of veggies.

 _What the hell is this?_ He set aside a green vegetable and continued to scramble in the fridge, _who the hell eats these many vegetables?_ He sighed when he finally noticed a familiar long orange vegetable, which took him ages to find. He got up from the sitting position and groaned in pain when he heard his back crack. _They made me into a grandpa and it had just been an hour._

After he placed the now full bowl back in the cage, he searched the side tables for a nail clipper. It felt weird clipping Mr. Nut nails when he could barely manage to clip his own. After clipping Mr. Nut’s nails, Chanyeol went out to the lawn and found Baekhyun playing with the dog.

“Jump Mongryong, JUMP! No no-no, you need to fly with your body.” He watched Baekhyun jumping in front of his pet, which he assumed, was a way of demonstrating for the dog. “I need to put you on a diet! Look at all that fat bouncing in your body. Bad boy.” Baekhyun childishly scolded Mongryong as he ruffled the dog’s hair and fed him a cookie. What an irony.

“Baek-”

“OH!” Baekhyun jumped slightly as he faced Chanyeol with a shocked expression. “You scared me. But anyways, since you are finally done, see those bushes over there,” He pointed at a corner and Chanyeol followed where Baekhyun was pointing to see a mini jungle - basically it was a dense area with loads of bushes and… bushes. “There are a lot of bugs there so it will be easy to have a nice catch.” Baekhyun finished and Chanyeol turned to the midget and gave him a disgusted look.

“I am not here for pest control.” He reminded the brunette.

“I know. You are here for babysit-”

“Looking after.” Chanyeol cut him. He was still not used to the fact that he was babysitting _animals._ He always thought that a babysitter was for human beings.

“Babysitting,” Baekhyun gave him a soft glare which was returned with a sour look by the other, “Aragog needs a nice lunch.”

“God. No way in hell am I going to hunt _bugs_!” Chanyeol exclaimed as he turned on his heel and started going his way back to the living room when a voice stopped his steps.

“So, you don’t want the pay?” 

Even though Chanyeol was facing the opposite side, he could definitely make out that the small man was wearing a smirk on his pretty face. He turned around to glare at the boy who was patting Mongryong’ s head and looking at Chanyeol with an amused expression with his eyebrows raised.

_Sigh_

Even against his will, Chanyeol sighed and rolled the sleeves of his favorite shirt and started stalking towards the bushes. He stared at it for a few minutes, wondering where to start his hunt for bugs and finish it _quickly_. After finding that all the angles looked same, he sighed again and just sat down. He even lost count of how much he sighed. 

_Sigh_

After a few minutes - half an hour actually - had passed, he turned around to find Mongryong ready with his leash around the neck, and a ball caught between his jaws. “Why don’t you just run around in the lawn? It’s small and you won’t even get tired.” He questioned the dog, but the little bundle of fat just barked at him in reply and remembered that he was supposed to take this dog out for a walk.

“Chanyeol!” 

A voice called out with a sweet lilt to it, making Chanyeol’s heart pound.

He turned around to find Baekhyun walking towards him with his perfectly toned thighs, and cute strides courtesy of his short legs. The midget looked as cute as he was earlier, but now in denim jeans and a supreme t-shirt with a snapback that made him look like a hamster. Not that Chanyeol is saying that Baekhyun looked cute, it’s the cap that he was talking about.

_Yeah, caps are cute._

“How’s it going Chanyeol? Were you able to get the bugs? I am impressed to see that you only have few bug bites.” Baekhyun said, examining the tall man in front of him.

Chanyeol couldn’t help but admit to himself that he liked the way Baekhyun called his name. _It sounds hot_. Not that he’s saying that Baekhyun was hot or maybe he is… but it’s his name that he’s admiring over here. He’s way too proud of anything related to him.

_Park Chanyeol. So sexy._

“Whatever, just take this shit before I puke on your oh-so-lovely green grass.” He felt his body itching when he got up and walked his way up to the living room.

“But why do u need bugs?” Chanyeol asked as he scratched his hands that were itching so bad that it had turned red.

“What do you think a tarantula eats? _Cakes_?” Baekhyun spoke, walking over to Chanyeol to slap the other’s hand away from the reddened skin, “And don’t do that, it will worsen the condition of your skin.” Chanyeol tried to laugh at the comment, took the zip-lock bag and gave it to Baekhyun with an irritated and annoyed expression.

“Wow! My baby will have such a feast with these fresh bugs,” Baekhyun exclaimed excitedly looking at the bag as if it had candies in it.

_Eww, someone save me._

Chanyeol felt nauseous and hoped that he would never have to repeat doing this task of collecting of bugs again.

Ever.

 

\------------------

 

Kyungsoo had never expected to have a secret admirer who would leave him short messages in his locker. That only happens in chick-flick movies and shoujou mangas. But it was happening with him for real, and he didn’t know how to feel about it. Should he be creeped out that someone that he probably doesn’t know, knew everything he did and left him notes in his locker? OR should he be like all fluttery teenage-girly-girls that would be so flattered by all these notes, and try to search for his admirer? 

Sehun, once, had crept behind him and caught him reading one of the notes. Now, he never gave any opportunity again to the younger to ever bring it up when they talk.

 

\--------------

 

_It was during their break that the boys decided to meet in the cafeteria to have snacks together, and gossip about the stuff they heard. Gossip was all for Chanyeol and Sehun to talk about, though they all know that Kyungsoo was all ears too. Everything was going just like a normal day when suddenly Sehun started singing lyrics that were way too familiar to Kyungsoo._

_“You can be the peanut butter to my jelly, you can be the butterflies I feel in my belly…”  
The ostrich head received a punch on his shoulder from the penguin man._

_“What?” Sehun teased his friend, whose face was turning a little darker shade of pink. Chanyeol high fived Sehun as they continued singing the song while doing cringy actions. The students who were passing by were laughing at the dorks, while some left few dollars on the table telling them to shut up already._

This had been going on for almost a month now. When Chanyeol got to know about this, the first thing he asked was, “What did this person even see in you?” and got a strong jab in his stomach as an answer.

Kyungsoo didn’t want to admit it, but the notes had such cute quotes on it that he couldn’t help but pin it on his wall in his bedroom under the topic _Secret Admirer_. Every day he would search for any new letter. The letters made him smile and brought warmth in his heart, he cherished those small notes that made him feel loved. Though he is still a bit creeped out, but now he tried to ignore that fact and just let his heart do its job.

One note had said,  
_“Did you hurt yourself by chance? Since you are an angel who fell from heaven.”_

Sehun had laughed so hard from that and also commented that he was not an angel but a spawn of Satan.

Another had said,  
_“Forever is a long time, but I wouldn’t mind spending it by your side.”_

Kyungsoo wondered who it was, his heart was racing, and it wasn’t going to calm down unless he finds this person, which was not anytime soon. 

The most unexpected thing that he ever encountered was when a few jocks pulled him and lead him to the school garden, where a few students were unwinding in their free time and some were giving them curious looks. Chanyeol and Sehun had tried to free him from the jocks’ hold - since they thought that they were going to bully him - but then they saw a boy standing in front of them with a cute penguin plushie in his hand, and his head facing the ground in embarrassment. The jocks left him there stumbling.

_Who is he? Oh, is that Kim Jongin?_

Kyungsoo thought as he tried to get a glimpse of the other’s face. When the person had looked up and met his eye, he swallowed a gasp and tried not to look shocked.

“H-hi, I am Ka-kai, I am sorry if my friends scared you,” Jongin started. _Get a grip of yourself Jongin, this is what you have been waiting for, and today he is right in front of you. Don’t run away. Face him, Kim Jongin._

“I ...umm... I just wanted to tell you that, I wanna to be your friend!” Jongin said as he pushed the plushie in front of the other’s face. _No! That’s not what I wanted to say!_ He mentally cursed himself and glared at his friends who were snickering and laughing at his hopeless attempt of confessing to the small boy in front of him.

Kyungsoo’s confused look cleared away when he noticed how nervous Jongin looked in front of him. He gave a short smile and collected all the courage he had and said, “Oh, Hi Kai, I am Kyungsoo, umm... Sure! We can be friends! Was that all you wanted to tell me?” He accepted the gift with a tinge of red on his cheeks. What? Head locking Sehun and Chanyeol was something he did on daily basis, but getting a friendship invitation was a new thing. Now, you didn’t expect him to go all wushu mode on a person he barely knew, did you?

Jongin felt terrible. He didn’t want to be friends ... he wanted it to be more! 

_Friends…_ he feels like he was stabbed in the heart. But then, he loved the way Kyungsoo said his name.

_No... I wanted to tell you that I like you._

“Yeah, that’s all I wanted to say ... I guess.” Jongin replied, feeling devastated. _Bury me 10 feet under the ground if he doesn’t become my boyfriend in the future_. “Well, I better get going. My class is about to start soon, bye Kyungsoo! I’ll see you around!” He said as ran out of there as fast as he could because Jongin couldn’t stand it anymore or else he might say something that he’ll regret. He felt like he embarrassed himself in front of everyone who witnessed the show he put up in the garden during this break.

“See you later Kai!” Kyungsoo shouted back, watching the boy run off. When the said boy was not in view anymore, he turned to look at the cute and soft bundle in his hands, trying hard to just ignore his two crazy best friends who were probably teasing him with the cooing sounds they were making behind him.

 _I should probably show them the new massage technique I learned_. Sehun and Chanyeol became quiet when they notice Kyungsoo’s glare and before any of them could breathe, the two fools ran away to save their life from their owl friend.

Chanyeol swore he saw red smoke come out of their tiny friend’s ears.

 

\----------------

 

So far, Chanyeol was still not satisfied with the job he had opted to take, but then he remembered the thing he had always wanted to buy. All the students entered the college grounds with either a scowl or a smile on their face, smiles only on the faces of those who have completed their assignments. More specifically, the Nerds.

Unlike other schools and colleges, the nerds in this campus actually form a group which you could’ve easily spotted anywhere. They didn’t have anything special in them except for their brains, but then no one actually cares about that fact unless they needed help in passing their subjects.

“So... how’s life?” Sehun jogged to catch up with his friend with long legs.

“Honestly speaking, nothing much. But I am tired.” Sehun noticed red marks on Chanyeol’s neck when he scratched it, and smirked.

“Yeah, had a rough night? Who was it? Was she pretty or was he handsome?” Sehun, being his nosy friend, bombarded with questions.

“What nonsense! They’re bug bites, Sehun!” Chanyeol pushed his questioning friend aside and opened his locker.

“Of course, a classic excuse.” Chanyeol rolled his eyes and took out the book that he would be needing for his first few classes.

_Why are you so fat, book?_

“Are you aware that Kyungsoo ditched us to be with Kai?” Sehun childishly huffed and peeked inside his friend’s locker and saw something _different._ “Is that a _pink_ card under your books?”

“Oooooh~” Sehun picked the card and handed it over to the taller, “Didn’t know that someone had hots for you. Poor choice.”

“Just do me a favor and shut up for a while, will you?” Chanyeol flipped the card open to find the inside decorated with bear stamps covering the whole page with only a message in the middle saying,

_You look so huggable, just like a teddy bear!_

“You just found a cuddle partner, Chanyeol. How sweet.” The said person ignored his friend who was busy making gagging noises and folded the card to keep it in his jeans pocket.

“Did you do your debate writing homework?” Chanyeol asked as they both made their way to their first class walking through the hallways that was densely populated.

“Shit.”

 

\------

 

“Look at that!” Sehun pointed out the brown-colored goodie bag that was lying inside Chanyeol’s locker above all his heavy books. It was lunch break right now, and their previous class had just ended a few minutes back.

“How do you notice these stuff before I do?” Chanyeol questioned as he took the bag and opened it to find a few – just two actually - cookies and a short note saying,

_Why are you so tall?_

“This person must fancy you a lot, which I really can’t believe. Can I have on-”

“They are mine.” Chanyeol slapped the younger’s hand away, before the other could touch the bag, and turned on his heels to make his way to the cafeteria. The only thing that Chanyeol wished to happen right now was for God to shut Sehun up. The younger was eating his head, begging for a cookie, which he had already feasted on. And no, he was not guilty of not sharing.

_It was my gift, I do whatever I want to do with it. There is only so much a person can do with two cookies._

Sehun’s whine only stopped when they noticed Kai sitting on their table. They groaned together in displeasure of a new member, but anyways went to join the other two who were already seated and were laughing on some topic unknown to them.

“Do you know what, Kyungsoo…” And there went Sehun and his gossip. It was no surprise that the first topic the blond had started on was about Chanyeol. When he had noticed Kyungsoo waiting for Chanyeol to show the notes to him, Chanyeol just sighed and passed on the letters.

“This is like five times cheesier than my admirer,” Kyungsoo laughed as he read the notes and passed them back to the owner to eat his sandwich.

“You have an…. admirer?” The three friends looked at the tan man.

“You don’t know? So, what happened was...” Chanyeol was glad the topic shifted from him to Kyungsoo, who was busy kicking Sehun under the table.

To say that Chanyeol had not been thinking about the notes he got, would be a total lie. Like how Sehun had said before, even he, himself, cannot believe that someone was crushing on him.

_Is this how Kyungsoo felt? I feel so restless._

 

\--------

 

“So, you are telling me that you weren’t able to buy carrots because you did not have any money?” Baekhyun raised his eyebrows while questioning the taller who was standing in front of him, trying to remove his left shoe with his right foot.

“Yeah.” He lied. Bet Baekhyun knew that already. He had only noticed Baekhyun’s text when he reached their doorstep. The first excuse that popped in his brain was that he didn’t have any money, but now if he thought about it properly, 

_That’s a pretty lame excuse._

“Fine then. Wear your shoes, we are going out for a walk.” Chanyeol groaned in response and sat down on the doorstep to put on his shoes again that he had just removed a few seconds ago.

 

 

Chanyeol was tired. He had been in a grumpy mood after running 5 kilometers behind a dog and then coming back to find that the tarantula went missing. Chanyeol felt like burning down the whole house. It’s been 30 minutes since they first started searching for the spider and he had finally noticed it hanging on a branch of an old tree.

_That shitty little creature._

“Have you found my little munchkin yet?” Baekhyun asked Chanyeol as he checked behind the bushes and under the dog’s house.

_Little MUNCHKIN? What the hell?_

“Yeah...he’s up there.” Chanyeol pointed above Baekhyun’s head where a branch was hanging low.

“Are you blind? It’s a she! Can’t you differentiate between a male and a female?” Baekhyun said sounding very offended.

“Is it? Wow. Let’s bring a male one for them to produce more little ones, then you will have a whole family crawling around your house and sleeping under your bed at night.” Chanyeol sarcastically stated while rolling his eyes and winced when he saw Baekhyun catch the tarantula and lightly pet its furry head. If he wasn’t wrong, he heard the small man mutter, _“How can you do that to me? I was so scared thinking I had lost you, baby.”_

Chanyeol was weirded out by how much Baekhyun cared for the animals, but found the latter’s love for them endearing yet terrifying. That’s a spider’s head the other’s petting, not a human’s.

“She is one of the eldest here. I’ve had her for as long as I can remember. She will be turning 12 years old on April 6th. My baby is growing so quickly. It just felt like yesterday when I found her escaping from the zoo! And you are getting an early invitation! Think of yourself as lucky.” Baekhyun said surprising Chanyeol with a wink and an invitation _for the spider's “birthday party”._

“So, you rescue animals for a living?” Chanyeol asked the brunette.

Baekhyun looked up and smiled, “Of course not. These cuties need a home too.”

“Umm...okay?”

“Anyway, do you like cucumbers and sugar? It’s a fabulous combination, honestly I don’t really like cucumbers but….” he smirked at Chanyeol and continued ranting about his _‘fabulous combination’_ which left the latter feeling internally disgusted by the small man’s weird choice.

 

\------

 

“Do you see this?” Kyungsoo pointed at the mini crocheted heart on Chanyeol’s palm. “This is just so adorable that it makes me want to puke.”

“Shut up.” Chanyeol rolled his eye and kept the piece in the pocket of his pants. While trying to keep a neutral expression, he was internally squealing like a teenage girl as his heart fluttered from remembering the mini heart he found in his locker with an attached note with a paw print that read,

_‘You are so…. KILL MEH.’_

“Why do I feel like your love story is going to be like those classic cliché stories?” Sehun teased while poking his tall friend’s non-existing biceps.

“Shut up.” 

“Is that the only word left in your dictionary?” Jongin questioned. 

One more thing, after Jongin started sitting on their table for lunch, the tan male had also invited himself in their group in hangouts and stuff like that. Not that they have gone anywhere but you get the gist. 

The last hangout the group had, before Jongin decided to join their trio, was like 3 months ago. Kyungsoo always claimed that, “ _I get to see you both enough on school grounds and that’s enough for me.”_

Sehun had whined for almost 2 weeks trying to persuade Kyungsoo to go out with them in the upcoming weekend, but all he got as a reply was a _‘next week’_. He gave up after a month because the _‘next week_ ’ never came.

 

Chanyeol wanted to squish the person who was sending him notes. _Is it one person? Or different people? Is it a junior or someone from his own grade?_ The last time Chanyeol had received _‘love letters’_ was when he was in the 8th grade. He could try searching for his secret admirer by guessing the handwriting but then the letters were printed. That was annoying. He really wished it was not some teacher or anyone from the school staff. They were all above 35 and that would just be plain disgusting. Well, except maybe their physical education teacher who was 25 and was _hot as hell_ , in Chanyeol’s words.

His phone beeped and brought him back to reality.

 **FROM: _CREEPY ’n’ CUTE MIDGET_**  
Mr. Nut has gained weight! He should be put on a diet!  
How much food are u giving him? He is not supposed to have a pig diet like you!  
Do you know what his weight is?! It’s 7.5 pounds! His weight should be approximately NOT more than 4 pounds! 

**FROM: _CREEPY ’n’ CUTE MIDGET_**  
YOU FAT ASS! No wonder my baby was feeling so down since last night. I checked his weight this morning and that’s what I found out! WHY WOULDN’T HE FEEL DOWN?! HE MUST BE FEELING SO INSECURE! AND THAT IS BECAUSE OF WHO?! YOU! .·´¯`( >▂<)´¯`·. 

 

 **TO: _CREEPY ’n’ CUTE MIDGET_**  
Oh no...will he die now? 

 

 **FROM: _CREEPY ’n’ CUTE MIDGET_**  
SHUT UP PARK CHANYEOL! NEVER SAY THE ‘D’ WORD AGAIN OR YOU WILL NOT SEE TOMORROW EVER AGAIN and I will make sure of that. You have made Mr.Nut feel so exploited.

 **FROM: _CREEPY ’n’ CUTE MIDGET_**  
This IS your first strike. 2 more and you are fired.

 

 **TO: _CREEPY ’n’ CUTE MIDGET_**  
YOU CANNOT DO THAT! 

Chanyeol felt a tap on his shoulder that made him stop from furiously typing on his outdated mobile phone. He turned around and found his CREEPY ’n’ _CUTE_ MID- 

“WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOURSELF, PARK CHANYEOL?!” Baekhyun was fuming with anger and before he could raise his fist to jab Chanyeol, the latter turned on his heels and sprinted to his first class. 

 

\---------

 

To say that Chanyeol was nervous to go to Baekhyun’s house to babysit would be an understatement, he was freaking out as he slowly approached the midget’s house. The house seemed quiet and normal from the outside, but he was unaware of the horrors he might face inside. He rang the doorbell while repeating the apology he would tell to Baekhyun, which he had practiced in front the school’s washroom mirror. 

The door opened to a furious looking Jongdae who had Baekhyun clinging to him from behind with the midget’s eyes looking red and puffy from crying.

“Chanyeol! I had told you that you would have to take care of the animals perfectly! And now Baekkie is heartbroken because of what happened to Mr. Nut!” Jongdae exclaimed furiously.

“I-I didn’t mean to! I’m really sorry! The ferret just looked so hungry all the time, I was unaware about his diet. Please forgive me, I didn’t mean to cause any distress. I’m sure he can lose weight quickly. He is only a ferret anyways,” Chanyeol frantically replied.

“Mr. Nut could be seeing his last days Chanyeol! Look at his state!” Baekhyun spoke for the first time since he arrived holding the ferret in his hands in front of Chanyeol face, and then Chanyeol did realize-

“Yeah… you could be right. He really looks fat.” Upon hearing this, Baekhyun started sobbing bringing Chanyeol to the realization of what he had just muttered. “No! I didn’t mean to-- I--“

“Enough Chanyeol! You are fired! Look, you made Baekkie cry again! Get out of here.” And just before Chanyeol could say anything, Jongdae shut the door right to his face. 

Jongdae was a really nice person and very sweet at heart too, but if you hurt Baekhyun, then you mess with Jongdae too.

 

Chanyeol turned around and went back home fumbling over the thoughts of the disaster that had just occurred. He went home and took a shower before he flopped down on his bed. He really needed someone to talk to about his situation. He called Sehun but it went over to voicemail, _“Hi! You have reached Sehun, leave a message!”_

_That brat...never picks up when it’s something important._

He called Kyungsoo, but the line was busy. 

_Probably talking to his so-called friend, Jongin._

Chanyeol harshly put his phone on the side and drifted off to sleep muttering curses to his friends.

 

\-----------

 

As usual, Chanyeol rushed to his locker the next day to check if he received any new messages from his admirer - or admirers? But to his dismay, he found none. “Look who is all pouty today about not getting any love message.” Sehun cooed, standing next to him.

“Shut up Sehun. And where were you- “Chanyeol abruptly stopped his curses that were going to spill from his mouth when he saw a petite looking boy in an oversized sweater pass over Sehun’s shoulder.

“Baekhyun! Wait, please!” Chanyeol shouted and ran to the brunette, “Listen, I’m really sorry! Will you please listen to me! I’m apologizing to you.” Chanyeol said only to be ignored by former.The boy didn’t even spare a look at him and went straight to his class.

“What happened Chanyeol?” Kyungsoo and Sehun asked. He told them about him messing up his job that lead him to get fired. Kyungsoo and Sehun could not figure out on whether they should be sad for the so innocent Chanyeol or for the poor ferret that had been taken care of by their giant friend.

 

This was the worst day for Chanyeol. He couldn’t mend things off with Baekhyun, nor did he get any messages in his locker which he cherished so much and always looked forward to. Maybe his admirer was busy, but Chanyeol hoped on receiving one tomorrow.

But, boy, was he wrong. He didn’t receive any messages the next day or the day after that either. It had been a week now since he didn’t get any messages. Baekhyun, on the other hand, had kept ignoring him, but he already had enough of it and decided to go to the other’s house after his classes ended.

As soon as the last bell rang signaling that class has ended, he rushed to Baekhyun’s house. The door was opened by Jongdae who looked pretty calm this time. 

“Hello, I know you really don’t want to see me, but I really need to talk to Baekhyun. I am done with him ignoring me. Please let me talk to him, and I promise I won’t bother any of you again.” Chanyeol said while giving a 90-degree bow.

“Alright.” 

Chanyeol looked up in surprise to see Jongdae letting him in with an amused look.

“But he isn’t home yet, you can wait in his room. I’m heading out. And don’t do anything. I am giving you one last chance.” With that final warning, Jongdae left the house, leaving Chanyeol alone in Baekhyun’s room.

The first thing he noticed when he entered the room was the ferret in the cage placed on the desk. He pulled a chair and sat facing the ferret. He looked much better now and had seemed to lose a few pounds.

“Hello Mr. Nut, I’m really sorry for causing any distress to you. I didn’t think my actions could lead you to get in such a terrible state. I had no idea I was giving you such heavy meals.” Chanyeol said remorsefully. 

_I can’t believe I’m talking to a ferret. I’m totally out of my mind._

“But shouldn’t Baekhyun also try to understand my part?” He questioned the wide-eyed creature that was staring at him, “It wasn’t entirely my fault when you looked like you are starving since forever. I really want this job back because I really want to buy something which I have been wanting for so long. If only you could speak to Baekhyun and defend me.” He stared at the table looking everywhere but at the animal inside the cage. 

He felt someone was looking at him, so Chanyeol turned around and found the two dragon lizards who were in their cage, which was on the lamp desk beside the soft fluffy bed, looking straight at him. He swears, if the dragon lizards were actual humans, he could totally see an amused expression on their faces. Much like how Sehun was when … he was amused?

He heard the bedroom door open and in came the small petite boy, “Mr. Nut says he will let you work here only if you promise to not repeat your mistake again.”

“Oh my god Baekhyun, I love you so much! You are amazing! You are cool! You are the greatest! You are the best! You are...” Chanyeol couldn’t put in words of how happy he was, and he felt relieved after hearing what the small boy said. He couldn’t control himself and hugged the life out of Baekhyun.

“C-Chany-yeol,” Baekhyun choked out the giant’s name while patting the other’s back to give a signal that he can hardly breathe. “I c-can’t b-breathe.” His vision was getting blurry, and he was going to lose grasp of his consciousness, when the other finally backed away. He leaned on the wall behind him for support and breathed heavily searching for fresh air. 

“Shit, I am so sorry. Chanyeol is stupid, Chanyeol is a worthless human, master can throw Cha-“

“Shut up before I actually do that.” Baekhyun glared at him who was fidgeting on his spot.

“Sorry.” The taller once again apologized for his stupidity and mentally slapped himself for acting like _Dobby._

“Since you are already here, go clean Myeonie’s cage.” He shooed Chanyeol out of his room, and before the latter could say anything, he shut the door and looked over at his desk to see if anything was out of place. When he lifted Mr. Nut’s cage and saw the paper, he sighed in relief.

 

\---------

 

Even if it had been a long time since he received a note from his secret admirer, he kept his hopes on average to find one when he reached his locker. 

_Please be there... Please please pleaaaaaaaase…_

He didn’t even need reach his locker to find out that he had been gifted of something because his crazy friend – Sehun - was running towards him holding out a really familiar piece of paper and an unidentified charm.

“Look what I found,” Chanyeol’s dear friend held out his hand to pass him some stuff, “It was stuck on your locker so I thought I’d get it for you.”

_What a lie._

_“Was it?_ ” When he saw his friend answering him with a nod, Chanyeol continued, “Care to entertain me with what is written inside?”

“I don’t kn-”

“Bullshit. Didn’t I say the other day that I will be the first one to open the notes? Why do you do this Sehuuuun~” He whined as he opened the note to read it.

_‘You are that ‘nothing’ when people ask me what I’m thinking about.’_

Chanyeol felt his heart fluttering and the war of butterflies in his stomach. He took the mini dog paw charm and attached it to his phone as a keychain. If one didn’t know Chanyeol, Sehun was sure to describe him as ‘the tall giraffe who is walking like an ostrich’. The reason would be, his giant friend is having a skip in each step.

Kyungsoo, who was coming towards them followed by Jongin, turned on his heels and pulled Jongin with him when he saw his best friend walking weirdly. He mentally declared that he was not associated with Chanyeol, and that the other was just a random stranger who loved to embarrass himself. He did feel sorry for Sehun though, who was covering his face from the students laughing at them, as he begged Chanyeol to walk properly.

 

\----------

 

The flyers of ‘Talent Contest’ were everywhere. It was just announced this morning by their class adviser that the annual talent contest was going to be held three weeks from now. Everyone was excited. The third and fourth year students always had it together. Each team for every category had to have equal number of students. All the students who were interested will have to audition for one onstage and off-stage category to get to the finals. 

As usual, Kyungsoo would be auditioning for cooking as an off-stage event and singing solo as an onstage event, and will also win in both categories as he has been doing for the past three years. Sehun will be auditioning for dance as his onstage and has been determined to get either first or second place. Chanyeol, like he always did, was ready to fold his sleeves up and grab markers and paper to make the best banner to cheer for his friends from the crowd. Jongin also planned on auditioning for dance, which was not surprising since he too had a title to hold as the _‘Dancing King’._

At first Baekhyun had no plans on participating for any events since he wanted to concentrate on his academics like he does every year, but looking at all the hype, he wanted to try. 

_It won’t hurt to try something and this is my last year. Might as well try rather than to regret it afterwards._

So, he prayed to all the talented gods out there and signed up for the singing duet. 

_I’ll just ask someone to play the guitar for me._

 

\---------

 

“Last year, I used green and black for Kyungsoo, and pink and purple for Sehun. Do you want any other color for this year?” Chanyeol asked as he roughly sketched in his book during lunch.

“Please don’t. That was embarrassing,” Kyungsoo groaned as he remembered last year’s event where his tall friend was yelling, _‘East or West, Kyungsoo is the best!’_ at top of his lungs with the banner in his hands. “It gave me nightmares.”

“It was not that bad,” Chanyeol shrugged and pointed out, “At least my cheering got you first place.” 

“Use red and black for me this year,” Sehun requested as he munched on his overpriced pizza that he bought from the canteen. Chanyeol nodded in response as he noted down the choice of colors and looked at Jongin.

“Do you want one too?” Jongin looked at him with a surprised expression because Park Chanyeol never talked to him _directly_. When Jongin shook his head, Chanyeol just shrugged and continued to design Sehun’s banner.

“Chanyeol,” A tray was set down on the table as a petite man sat beside him. Chanyeol turned to meet the master of the little monsters he _‘babysit’_ , “Do you know anyone who plays a guitar?”

“....no?” The other man just sighed and ruffled his hair in frustration. He roughly opened the carton of _strawberry milk_ and gulped it down quickly. “Why?”

“I don’t know why, but I signed up for a singing duet with the hopes of finding someone to join me.” The pout on Baekhyun’s lips was one of the reasons why Chanyeol claimed that the man sitting beside him was a cutie.

“And you are…?” Sehun, head tilting to one side, asked.

Baekhyun looked at the other people in the table and gave out a small smile to the boy with broad shoulders.

“Baekhyun.”

“Oh, so you are him!” Sehun exclaimed. “Do you know how Chanyeol was moping around when you fired him? That was so funny.” Chanyeol didn’t find it entertaining at all when the others on the table laughed at his misery.

“Well he deserved it.” Baekhyun shrugged as he bit into his grilled cheese sandwich. 

“As for your problem,” Kyungsoo started, “Didn’t you take guitar classes, Chanyeol?” 

Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol, surprised that the lanky giant could even do _that._

“That was two years ago Soo, and I’m not sure if I remember it.”

“Yes, you do remember it, and you’re going to be my partner for this.” Baekhyun nodded and patted the shocked giant’s back.

“But the bann-”

“Jongdae can do that. Believe it or not, my brother is really creative.”

“Problem solved.” Kyungsoo shrugged and continued chatting with Sehun and Jongin who were talking about some fashion week going on, while Chanyeol just pouted and shut his book and his mouth when he saw how thrilled Baekhyun was about this.

“Don’t rely on my skills though. If your voice is bad, then there’s no use in participating in this.”

“I am confident of my voice,” Baekhyun puffed out his chest and continued, “I guess?” 

Chanyeol just shook his head as he pushed away the thoughts of a puppy embarrassing himself in front of the whole crowd while he played the guitar.

 

\------

 

Surprisingly, Baekhyun did have a great voice. He had given Chanyeol a piece from YouTube to practice alone while he sung the song, so they never really practiced together because the elder was _shy_. But when they performed for the auditions in a spare room, he was in awe as to how well they matched. They had a week left before the finals, and today, they were to meet up at Baekhyun’s place to decide on what song they would perform for the competition.

“A love song?” Chanyeol suggested, “You know, ‘cause love songs are always the trend, and it might hype up the audience and couples.”

“We are not a rock band, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun stated. “Love songs are so common. Let’s sing a nice calm song. Or do you want to make one?” Chanyeol raised his eyebrows at the thought. 

“I hope we don’t suck at making one,” Chanyeol shrugged and took out his book and pencil and looked at Baekhyun to start.

 

♪♪  
naui du nuneul gameumyeon  
tteooreuneun geu nundongja….  
♪♪

 

\----

 

It was the third day of practice, and there were two more days to go before the actual performance when Chanyeol remembered, “Didn’t you say that a love song was a little too common?”

“Yep,” Baekhyun looked up from his sheet of lyrics, his glasses slipping down on his button nose, “It is.”

“Then don’t you think this is-”

“It’s a beautiful song,” The elder glared and stopped the giant in finishing his sentence. “We already practiced this song. Are you done with your part yet?”

“Almost. I guess.” Chanyeol shrugged as he placed the sheet down and tried to memorize it.

“This is not the time to _guess_ , Yeol. You are either done with it or not.” Baekhyun implied.

“Fine.”

“Fine what?”

“I’m done.” Chanyeol’s hands were itching to place the glasses properly on the elder’s face, but he just wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans and grabbed his guitar, trying to distract himself.

“I like your hoodie.” Chanyeol just looked up and was surprised at the random comment Baekhyun passed. “It looks comfortable.”

“Uhh…Thanks?”

Baekhyun just nodded his head and went back to practicing with the younger, poking the other in the ribs when he made a mistake.

 

\----

 

After a week of full dedication and practice, it was finally the day of the performance. Usually only the third years and the fourth years were allowed to watch and cheer, but this time the organizers thought it would be really _great_ to let the freshmen and the sophomores watch too. With that, Baekhyun became a nervous wreck. 

They were on standby. The couple, that were performing right now, were really amazing and well harmonized, and so were the others who performed prior. They wanted to be the last one to perform so they stood back. But when the couple finished, the crowd erupted in claps and cheers, and Baekhyun was almost on the verge of fainting. 

“Next performers are Chanyeol and Baekhyun from class 3-B and 3-A. They will be singing the song ‘Stay with Me’ which was written and composed by themselves!” The crowd cheered as they entered the stage and sat on their chair. When Chanyeol was all settled with his guitar, he looked at Baekhyun with a smile and nodded. 

As Baekhyun heard the first chord strummed by Chanyeol, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself. The whole crowd went still as Chanyeol continued to strum the chords on his guitar accompanied by Baekhyun’s beautiful voice in which the taller later joined.

After what felt like hours listening to the melodic duo when in fact it was just a few minutes, Chanyeol and Baekhyun finally finished the song. They stood up and left the stage with a bow and bright smiles adorning their faces. 

“That was amazing!” Chanyeol hugged Baekhyun after he kept his guitar aside, and this time Baekhyun hugged him back. They exited the backstage and joined their friends who had reserved seats for them. After getting thousands of pats on their back, they finally settled down. Everyone anxiously looked at the host, waiting for the results to be announced.

“Before we reveal the results, I would like to invite the principal to address the gathering.” Groans were heard all across the auditorium.

“Not very pleased to see me,” the principal chuckled, “Don’t worry I won’t take long. The performances I saw today was…” 

Everyone looked so bored at the middle-aged man standing at the podium in his pressed suit in full glory. After ten minutes of him appreciating all the performances and cracking lame jokes with the students showing fake enthusiasm, he finally said thank you and came down as the students clapped with full vigor, not for acknowledging the speech but for the most awaited results.

“Starting with the prize distribution ceremony, in dance for group...” 

In the end, everyone from their circle got awards. Kyungsoo took first place for the third time in a row for solo singing; Sehun and Kai got first place for their sexy yet powerful dance duet; Chanyeol was surprised when they went to collect the prize on the stage. He was not aware that the two were performing together. And surprisingly, Chanyeol and Baekhyun had won second place. They were jumping with happiness, and it was the first time Chanyeol saw Baekhyun’s eye blinding smile. He felt his heart skip a beat, but thought lightly of it thinking it might just be euphoria.

 

\------

 

Kyungsoo being the head of the music club was very happy looking at the students signing up for the club after the recent school event. He was checking who had joined and had hopes of his two friends joining too, but he didn’t find their names on the list. He sighed with his shoulder drooping down, even after forcing his friends so much. 

Chanyeol was so talented. He could play any instrument he touched, and he knew that because they lived together! It’s annoying him so much that he just wants to slam Chanyeol’s face on the wall until the giant agrees on signing up. He went to the cafeteria and found Baekhyun sitting with another boy with brown hair and cute deer eyes.

Baekhyun spotted Kyungsoo looking at him and called him waving his and wildly. “Kyungsoo! Meet my friend, this is Luhan. Luhan, this is my friend Kyungsoo.” Baekhyun said briefly introducing them to each other.

“Nice to meet you Kyungsoo, I hope we get along well.” Luhan said while smiling cheekily at Kyungsoo as he sat beside Baekhyun.

“Likewise.” Kyungsoo said returning the smile. “Baekhyun, have you thought of joining the music club? You and Chanyeol won second place at the talent contest. You should join the music club, I have been telling Chanyeol to join too. But that fool is too insecure. I am surprised that he even agreed to participate for the talent contest.”

“Hmm… I’ve never actually thought about it but I think I should. With Chanyeol.” Baekhyun replied thoughtfully.

“Really?! I am so happy! Thanks, Baekhyun. I should head out now, I have a lot to do.” Kyungsoo left the table saying his goodbyes to both of them.

\-------

There was always that one friend who was always there with you from the start. In Baekhyun’s case, it’s Luhan. Even if the Chinese boy was a year older than him, they had been stuck with each other like sticky rice ever since high school started, especially when they previously acted together in a school play entitled, “ _The Lion King Musical_ ” wherein Rafiki and Simba was played by Luhan and Baekhyun respectively. 

Having an older friend also had its perks, like how Baekhyun always managed to get notes and previous project ideas from Luhan and don’t forget the textbooks! Money saving right there. But being in his fourth year, Luhan couldn’t spend more time with his dear friend. Being loaded with so much homework, he spent his lunch and free times in the library rather than the cafeteria where the other students usually eat their food. But when he finally got a little work off his shoulders, he ran to the cafeteria to meet Baekhyun who looked so happy to see him again after such a long time. When the two of them were chatting, he met Do Kyungsoo who was Baekhyun’s friend and tried really hard not to coo on how cute the short guy looks. With the hopes of meeting Kyungsoo again, not that he was interested in him, he signed up for the music club too.

 

\-----

 

“Chanyeol... Chanyeol-ah...yah Yoda!” Baekhyun screamed while pulling off the headphones from Chanyeol’s head.

“What do you want now midget?! And did you have to pull them off during the best part of the song?!” Chanyeol said, puffing his cheeks.

“I want you to join the music club with me. If you don’t, I will tell everyone of how I caught you crying over….” Baekhyun said casually.

“What?! No! You can’t do that!” Chanyeol said while pouting. “Did Kyungsoo put you up to this?” The giant asked with his eyes wide trying to move away from Baekhyun who was rather very close to him, so close that Chanyeol could smell his scent that of strawberries. He looked at Baekhyun who kept his gaze on Chanyeol, and was insistent in blocking the giant’s way to his class.

_Damn that puppy look!_

Chanyeol sighed, “I don’t have a choice, do I?” He asked while looking dejected at Baekhyun  
.  
“No, you don’t! Now let’s go quickly and sign up! We need to sign up by today!” 

The brunette, pulling Chanyeol along with him, ran towards the music club. Their chests heaved heavily from running so fast, and before they could open the door, Kyungsoo had opened it and stood there looking at them surprised.

“Wow! I knew I could count on you, Baek.” Kyungsoo said handing them the paper to write their names and smiling as he saw how poor Chanyeol filled in his name, looking like a kicked puppy and Baekhyun, who had managed to convince Chanyeol, looked rather really happy and excited. 

\---------

 **TO: _CREEPY ‘n’ CUTE MIDGET_**  
I can’t come to work today.

 **FROM: _CREEPY ‘n’ CUTE MIDGET_**  
Nuuuu~ You caaan’t. 

**TO: _CREEPY ‘n’ CUTE MIDGET_**  
I am going out to a noraebang with my friends. Unlike you, I have a social life.

 **FROM: _CREEPY ‘n’ CUTE MIDGET_**  
So what you are saying is that I, BYUN BAEKHYUN, am NOT your FRIEND?!  
Where is this noraebang? I am coming too.

 **TO: _CREEPY ‘n’ CUTE MIDGET_**  
…..?

 **FROM: _CREEPY ‘n’ CUTE MIDGET_**  
Can I join too? *insert puppy face*

 **TO: _CREEPY ‘n’ CUTE MIDGET_**  
You can. Just meet us near the bus stop opposite the uni.

 **FROM: _CREEPY ‘n’ CUTE MIDGET_**  
Yay! See you.

Chanyeol switched his ancient phone off and kept it in his pocket, as he looked up trying to focus on what the professor was trying to convey. He spaced out most of the time because it’s _English_. When Baekhyun had said he wanted to join, he felt like wanting to mock the little midget and say no, but his idea didn’t agree with his innermost feelings.

 

\-----------

 

Baekhyun hurriedly walked to reach the bus stop faster, but when he arrived to the said meeting place, he found Chanyeol standing there alone, hands in his pockets and rocking on his heels.

“Where are the others?” Baekhyun looks around to look for Kyungsoo or Sehun, but he didn’t spot them with Chanyeol, “By _‘friend_ ’, did you mean air perhaps?”

“Ha ha ha ha,” Chanyeol fakes a laugh, “They left early because they didn’t have any lectures. So, if you can just shut up, we can reach early there.” Baekhyun groaned in pain when the giant flicked his forehead. He glared at Chanyeol but followed him in the bus. 

The bus was not crowded that much, so they both ended up sitting on two different seats, separated by the isle. It was just a 10-minute ride, as what Chanyeol had told him, but he couldn’t stop stealing secret glances at the other. Chanyeol, on the other hand, was just listening to his playlist with headphones on. But he felt staring eyes on him and looked sideways only to catch Baekhyun staring at him. He turned to look at the window to see if the other was looking at something outside, but found nothing, so he turned back to see Baekhyun not looking at him anymore but was busy entertaining himself with his phone.

 

\----

 

“Finally, you guys are here!” Jongin jumped out of the sofa to give the two newcomers a pat on their shoulders as he pushed them to sit. “Sehun said he was going to sing _I Got A Boy_ by Girls Generation!”

“What the hell? Why are you singing a girl-”

“Can I join you too?” The puppy faced hooman cut Chanyeol and jumped up to grab a mic.  
“I LOVE GG!”

Chanyeol just sat and watched them get ready while the song loads. 

_“He he. Are you ready? Heeeree comes troubleee!”_

_“Woo!”_

\---

 

There were many regrets that you have in your life and for Chanyeol, one of them was coming to this karaoke room. Except for him and Kyungsoo, the rest were drunk. And it’s hard controlling drunk people. Jongin was in one corner crying over how many chickens his mother had killed and he had eaten while Sehun was… blowing in the mic for the past 15 minutes and Baekhyun was dancing in a rather too sexual way that Chanyeol had to knock him down for him to stop.

Of course, he regretted knocking Baekhyun down because now he needed to carry the latter home. “Just leave the main door open.” Chanyeol informed Kyungsoo, and bid him farewell as he shut the taxi door. When the taxi is out of sight, he turned around to get back to the elder when he found the other hugging a pole and correct him if he heard it wrong, 

“Hey handsome or pretty…are you a girl or a boy? I don’t care. You are so tall just like my friend. Do you drink milk? I never liked it when I was small. Maybe that’s why I am still small.”

“Come on, Baek. Let’s go home.” Chanyeol pulled the overly drunk Baekhyun and went to stand on the nearest bus stop. After 5 minutes, when the bus can finally be seen, Baekhyun had to do something crazy of course. He pulled Chanyeol’s hand as he screamed in his ear, “It’s coming to get us Chanyeol! We need to run!” And before Chanyeol could process anything, he was being dragged by a guy who was at least a head and a half shorter than him. 

_They missed the bus. Great._

Chanyeol rolled his eyes and let himself be pulled by the midget. The house was not that far, just 15-minute walk, but then he would’ve preferred the bus because he didn’t want to deal with his crazier antics. But life doesn’t want him to have the easy way. 

_Sigh._

 

\--------------

 

“Yes? Oh?” Jongdae stared at his oh-so-lovely baby brother with shock. “Baekhyun is _drunk_?”

“Yeah.” Chanyeol shifted his weight on his left leg as he tried to support Baekhyun.

“I’ll go ready his bed. Just bring him inside if you don’t mind.” Chanyeol nodded as Jongdae ran upstairs. When he was busy removing the elder’s jacket, Chanyeol froze when he felt the hot exhale of breath. He looked up and realized how close they were right now. 

Baekhyun whispered something as he looked straight in Chanyeol’s eyes, leaving the giant in a state of shock. He tried to not let his mind wander in _that_ direction and kept his gaze on the shorter’s face. Chanyeol couldn’t take his mind off from admiring how cute the shorter male looked with pouty lips and lazy droopy eyes. But someone had to cockblock their moment. They both flinched when Mongryong barked and jumped on Baekhyun. “Let’s go and sleep baby.” Baekhyun gave Chanyeol a short nod and turned to look at his dog.

Like as if nothing happened, Baekhyun left Chanyeol standing near the doorway and went upstairs carrying his dog like a baby. Confused, Chanyeol shrugged and said his goodbye to Jongdae and left the house.

 

\-----------------

 

Baekhyun was confused as to why Chanyeol was acting awkward around him. Not knowing the reason for it, he got annoyed at times but controlled his facial expressions. When he asked Jongin, Sehun and Kyungsoo, none of them knew the reason for it too, so then he started avoiding Chanyeol. _Again._

Chanyeol, on the other hand, tried to act normal and casual but then whenever he came around Baekhyun, he was reminded of what the shorter said when he was drunk. And since Baekhyun had not confronted him of that topic, he thought it was safe to assume that Baekhyun didn’t remember what he said that day. Not wanting to create more awkwardness, Chanyeol decided not to bring up that topic too. Little did the idiot giant know that someone was already getting hurt because of his behavior.

He still attended his job of babysitting the animals, but tried to interact as little as possible with the owner.

 

\------------

 

After a few days, everyone in their group saw how troubled and worried Baekhyun looked. They tried talking to Baekhyun, but the latter always seemed lost and stopped coming to his classes. Jongdae had also called in and told Chanyeol to not come for a few days stating everything is fine.

It had been a few days since Baekhyun had stopped coming to school. There was no news about Baekhyun, and this really bothered Chanyeol. He approached Sehun during one of their “study” sessions, asking him if he had heard from Baekhyun recently to which the latter just puffed his cheeks and glared at him.

“Well, all I can say is that someone really hurt him by avoiding him…” Sehun said looking up at Chanyeol.

“Umm…. Why would anyone do that? I mean he is so CU-- I mean nice! Who is it? I will talk to that brat.” Chanyeol said with determination.

“HOW CAN YOU BE MY HYUNG?!?! IT’S YOU! YOU ARE THAT BRAT WHO HAS AVOIDED HIM! YOU HURT MY MOCHI!”

“But... I just didn’t...Oh my god... I didn’t mean to! I need to see him.” Chanyeol said exasperatedly, got up and left quickly.

“And yea! He _IS CUTE_!” Sehun screamed watching Chanyeol run off.

 

\-----

 

_Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong!_

Chanyeol rang the bell repeatedly to which Jongdae opened the door. He looked tired and the house seemed gloomy. “Oh, Hi Chanyeol. What are you doing here?”

“I--I came to check on Baekhyun. He hasn’t been replying to my messages.”

Jongdae squeezed Chanyeol surprisingly in a tight hug upon hearing this. “Oh, Chanyeol. I am so happy Baekhyun has a friend like you! He hasn’t come out of his room in days nor has he eaten anything properly… Thank you for coming for him.” He said patting Chanyeol on the back smiling from ear to ear.

 

Chanyeol stood outside Baekhyun’s door and knocked thrice. “Baek...It’s me, umm… Chanyeol. Can I come in?” Chanyeol said while resting his hand on the door knob, ready to turn the knob open. After hearing no reply from the other side of the door he said, “Okay, I am coming in.”

“NO! I d-don’t want y-you to see me l-like this! I’m f-fine... just leave Ch-Chan-y-yeol...” Baekhyun replied his voice sounding broken.

Chanyeol sighed when he heard the door get locked. “Baekhyun, please open the door. I am not going anywhere until you open the damn door, even Mongryong here is looking worried too and so is Jongdae-hyung.”

After a few seconds, he heard the sheets getting ruffled, and the door being unlocked. Chanyeol entered the room when he finally heard a soft ‘come in’. 

He entered the dark gloomy room and found a big heap on the bed. He climbed onto the bed and started pulling the covers to take a look at Baekhyun. Knowing how stubborn, the smaller can be, he gave up on trying to get the midget out of the covers.

“I am so sorry, Baek. I didn’t mean to avoid you. I didn’t think this could upset you so much. Please forgive me, I won’t be a jerk next time.” Chanyeol said looking at the cloud pattern on the blanket.

“It’s not because of you! Yes, you are a jerk and that did hurt. But that’s not entirely the reason…”

Baekhyun took his head out of the covers and looked at Chanyeol who had a worried expression plastered on his face with his eyebrows furrowed. He felt bad for making everyone worried about him and finally came out of the covers. 

Chanyeol was shocked when Baekhyun revealed himself. The other looked so tired, and his eyes were puffy and red and with a hair that can pass as a bird’s nest. He looked so tiny and was shaking so hard.

“Baekhyun...do you want to tell me what is bothering you?” Chanyeol said holding Baekhyun’s shaking hands which were so cold and started rubbing them between his own hands to spread warmth.

“It’s just that Spiky, my hedgehog… He wasn’t feeling well for the past few days, so I didn’t go to school because I had to take care of him. But his condition worsened and he...passed away.” Baekhyun was already sobbing when he finished. 

Chanyeol looked at Baekhyun and understood why the latter was so broken. He was shaking so hard that Chanyeol was scared that he might break like one of those cyborgs in the movies. Baekhyun thought Chanyeol was going to leave him when he felt the warm hands slip away from holding him. _Well, Chanyeol must have found me pathetic to be sad over this._ He thought. But when he lied down on the bed without looking at Chanyeol, he found the warmth which left his hands seconds ago, now enveloping his body and felt his head being cradled on slightly rough yet soft arms.

Chanyeol held Baekhyun tight, waiting for the smaller to calm down. He shifted his position to make them more comfortable and rested his chin on top of Baekhyun’s fluffy head kissing it lightly. 

_What is wrong with me?!_ Chanyeol thought to himself.

“You know... When I was young I had a ferret too, I named him Ddori.” Chanyeol whispered in Baekhyun’s hair.

“What happened to him?” Baekhyun said looking up at him. They were so close, but it felt comfortable. It wasn’t awkward at all.

“I lost him. I tried searching for Ddori, but I couldn’t find him anywhere.” Chanyeol said sounding so heartbroken. “He was my first pet that my mom agreed to keep. I know how it feels, Baek. I am very sorry for your loss.” He said looking down at those beautiful brown orbs.

“I am sorry, Chanyeol.”

They stayed like that for some time until it became too hot. “I brought you your homework by the way. It’s on your table.” Chanyeol stated.

“Thanks.”

Chanyeol got up, scanned the dark room and nodded to himself, “We need to get started now.”

“On what?”

Chanyeol walked towards the windows and slid the curtains open, letting light enter the room. If that was not enough, the giant opened the windows too. 

“Ahh! My eyes! It’s too bright!” Baekhyun cried covering, rubbing his eyes and blinking them repeatedly to adjust his vision.

“That’s what happens if you stay in this dark hole, midget! And oh my god, the fresh air feels so good. Didn’t you feel so stuffed?” Chanyeol said grinning while looking at Baekhyun who looked so cute in his yellow pajamas with a natural pout adoring his face.

“You’re back to the ‘midget’ now, aren’t you?” Baekhyun said looking at Chanyeol with crinkling eyes which was meant to be a glare but Chanyeol thought otherwise.

“What are you talking about?” Chanyeol asked sounding confused.

“You called me _Baek_ before. Twice or thrice, maybe.” Baekhyun said teasingly.

“I said no such thing!”

“You did. I even remember clearly how you sounded... Bae--” Chanyeol threw the pillow at Baekhyun covering his face, and heard him giggling from underneath.

“Now this is your punishment for teasing me!” Chanyeol said as he started tickling Baekhyun and not minding the screams of ‘help!’ and ‘stop!’ Laughter filled the room as both of them fought using blankets and pillows.

Jongdae heard the laughs erupting from the room and smiled with relief with getting his brother back.

 

\-----------

 

When Baekhyun went to take a shower, Chanyeol went downstairs and found the house already empty. He entered the kitchen and found a note on the table from Jongdae stating that he had to go out to run some errands.

Chanyeol’s thoughts ran back to Baekhyun who had probably not eaten properly for a long time. He opened the fridge and took out some ingredients to cook for Baekhyun. 

_We are friends, this is normal._ He thought. And started cooking a meal for the elder.

When Baekhyun came out of his room, his stomach grumbled from the delicious smell wafting in the house. _Food_. He entered the kitchen and found Chanyeol adding his finishing touches to his dishes. His stomach grumbled loudly catching the attention of Chanyeol who looked up to a rather embarrassed Baekhyun and smirked.

“Right on time. Come on now fancy a seat unless you are planning to drool just by standing there.” Chanyeol said teasingly indicating the elder to take a seat.

Baekhyun walked forward and took a seat while Chanyeol served him a bowl of kimchi fried rice and his signature sausage dish. He took the seat opposite to Baekhyun and watched intently as Baekhyun took his first bite.

Baekhyun felt like he had never eaten something so nice. Maybe he was just very hungry, he thought. But it was still delicious. He ate so quickly and then realized he had finished his bowl when his chopsticks came empty in his mouth.

He looked up at Chanyeol and found a very nervous man sitting across him fidgeting and he realized he had not commented on anything about the food. 

“I never thought you could cook so well, Yoda. Thanks.” Baekhyun said giving his dazzling smile with his crescent eyes.

Chanyeol let out a breath which he didn’t realize he had been holding. 

_Why am I so nervous?_ It’s not like he wanted to impress Baekhyun anyways.

“Well, what did you expect from the multi-talented Park Chanyeol? Would you like some more?” Chanyeol said feeling his heart going wild from what Baekhyun just said.

“I’m not sure about the talented part, but yes! I would like more YODA! Eat with me.” Baekhyun said shifting in his seat, as he watched Chanyeol serving him another bowl of rice and sausage. They sat in a comfortable silence and ate. Even Mongryong liked the sausage. 

Chanyeol felt like he was over the moon because both the master and his pets were really picky eaters.

 

\---------------

 

Baekhyun was deep in his thoughts. Thinking about how much work he had missed and how he was even going to catch up with it. “Hey midget! Let’s go for a walk.” Chanyeol suggested, grabbing Baekhyun’s hand and pulling him out of the house.

 _Thank God everyone is sleeping._ By everyone he meant the animals who were resting.

They walked through the park and ate vanilla soft serves which Baekhyun had insisted on having. They sat on the swing and challenged each other on who could go the highest. Chanyeol had hit his head on the bar of the swing forgetting the fact of how tall he was when he stood up on it which resulted in him falling on the sand.

Baekhyun had laughed so hard that he felt like his insides would come spilling out. He helped the giant get up, and they both sat on the bench with their chests heaving, relaxing themselves.

“Hey, Baekhyun? Do you know how to climb a tree?” Chanyeol said after a while, “I bet you don’t with those short legs of yours.” 

“Of course, I can climb a tree! And my legs are not short, it’s just that yours are exceedingly long!” Baekhyun sounding offended with a frown on his face.

_Oh… He looked so cute!_

“Alright. I challenge you to climb that tree over there then.” Chanyeol said playfully pointing at a tree which was a meter away from them.

“I’ll show you! Just you wait and watch.” Baekhyun got up quickly and ran towards the tree with Chanyeol following behind him.

Once they got to the rather tall tree, Baekhyun pulled his sleeves up and gave Chanyeol a _‘now watch me’_ look before climbing the tree. To Chanyeol’s surprise, Baekhyun had reached the top branch in a few minutes. He stood there on the branch grinning at Chanyeol on his effortless victory.

“Okay Mowgli, are you going to just stand there now? We should get going. Get down.” Chanyeol said looking up at Baekhyun. The smile on Baekhyun’s face was now replaced by horror.

“Chanyeol! How do I get down this tree?!” He screamed with his eyes wide while clinging onto the tree trunk.

“WHAT?! You don’t know how to get down?!” Chanyeol said looking up at a scared Baekhyun.

“Chanyeol! Get me down this tree!”

“I am going, Baekhyun! Bye Bye!” Chanyeol teased, taking a step away from the tree.

“Chanyeol!! Don’t leave me Yoda!” Baekhyun kept on calling Chanyeol’s name while the other was having fun watching the scene. Little did he realize what was about to happen next, he heard Baekhyun scream and saw him slip while holding the branch. Chanyeol felt his heart jump out at the scene which just unfolded in front of him.

“Baekhyun! Stay right there, I won’t let anything happen to you!” Chanyeol said in panic and looked around for some sort of solution.

 _How do you even climb this thing?!_ He screamed internally as he shook the idea of climbing a tree. Even if he is a giant, he is scared of heights.

Baekhyun’s grasp slipped off the branch. He squeezed his eyes shut and readied himself to land on the hard ground but found himself caught between two arms. He opened his eyes and saw that Chanyeol had caught him. And just when he was about to give Chanyeol the title of _‘my knight in shining armor,’_ Chanyeol lost his balance and they both fell down on the grass with Baekhyun on top of Chanyeol and the younger of the two holding Baekhyun tightly in his arms.

They opened their eyes and found themselves looking at each other’s equally brown orbs. They got up quickly when they realized what just happened and dusted their clothes while looking anywhere but at each other. Baekhyun cleared his throat and hit Chanyeol’s arm for not getting him off the tree.

_How embarrassing._

Chanyeol had done so much for him today, he felt embarrassed for being taken care of. Chanyeol apologized and they both headed towards Baekhyun’s home. 

Much to their concern, someone had caught a sight of them falling on top of each other and had taken a picture of it. Sehun had been strolling in the park and had witnessed this scene unfold in front of him so, given the chance, he took a picture of it and sent it to Kyungsoo and Jongin, quickly ran away, giggling. 

 

\-------

 

 _“My giant baby will be turning 20 in a week!”_ Mrs. Park screeched and Chanyeol moved the phone away from his ear to avoid getting deaf. _“So, what do you want as a gift? Call all your friends over and we will have a party!”_

“Nooooo, it’s embarrassing, mom. Stop.” Chanyeol whined as he loaded the washing machine with all the dirty clothes before Kyungsoo comes back and starts to nag at him and eat his head.

_“What do mean by ‘Stop’? Have you visited me ever since your new semester has started? NO. Even your noona wants to meet you.”_

“But I am not a kid anymore to have a birthday party especially in my parents’ house! Everyone will think I am a middle schooler.” After carefully putting the detergent and closing the lid, he washed his hands and exited the room.

 _“So, you would rather go to a club and consume God knows what rather than celebrating it in your house with delicious home-cooked meals with your family?”_ He felt the guilt rising up inside him when he heard his mother’s words, _“Yoora said that she has a surprised planned for you. I guess I’ll just have to say to her to cancel it.”_

“Fine, I’ll come,” He gave up on convincing his mom and pointed out, “And you know very well that I don’t drink.”

_“I know son! Yay! I’ll have to start preparing then- and oh! If you have finally found your significant other then you should bring them along too!”_

“Mom, stoooop!!” Chanyeol thrashed on the couch at his mother’s constant teasing and got more annoyed when he didn’t find the television remote.

“Fine, fine. God, I’ll leave you to your life then. See you next week! Mom will make good food for you.” 

“Yeah mom. Love you. Bye.” After hearing his mother cut the call he sighed and switched his phone off and stared at the cream colored ceiling. Chanyeol already knew who he was going to invite - Sehun, Kyungsoo, Jongin and Baekhyun. Now that he thought about it, he could actually just count the number of friends he has.

_Wow, I have a non-existent social life._

The door opened right when his stomachs growled in hunger. 

“What the hell, get yourself some food if you are that hungry,” Kyungsoo threw a chocolate wrapper at his friend’s face after removing his shoes and entered the house. “How come you are back so early?”

“I just came back half an hour ago after visiting Byun.” 

Chanyeol got up and went to the kitchen to check the refrigerator if they had any chicken nuggets left. “I swear I kept my box here yesterday. Soo, where is it?”

“Oh, that was yours? I cooked it yesterday because Jongin wanted some.” Kyungsoo shrugged as he came to stand beside his tall roommate and joined him in staring at the empty freezer. “So how is Baek? What did he say?”

“Are you kidding me?” Chanyeol turned to look at Kyungsoo and slammed the fridge door shut. “I wanted to eat those nuggets!” Kyungsoo ignored the whines and cringed when Chanyeol stomped his way all around the kitchen.

“Chill. Should I make some ramen for us?” Kyungsoo suggested.

“I eat that all day and I am sick of it.” Chanyeol replied. He watched his friend sigh as he rubbed his face with his hands. 

“Fine, I’ll order some chicken.” Kyungsoo left the kitchen and went into the living room to order. Chanyeol grabbed a glass and filled it with chilled water, before making his way to his room. After a few seconds, he emerged back with his laptop in his hand.

“I will kill you if you put Zootopia on again.” The shorter threatened as he placed the phone down on the coffee table and sent a hard glare to his friend. Anyone else standing in Chanyeol’s shoes at that moment would have felt their heart crushing and their soul crying on receiving such an intense stare, but it’s Chanyeol and for him, Kyungsoo just looked like an angry penguin. Growing up together had made him face the wrath of Kyungsoo multiple times. Hence, the name _‘Satansoo’._

“It’s called a hustle, sweetheart.” Chanyeol smirked as he can already feel the glare intensify. Imagining his best friend having red horns and almost ripping his hair as red flames grow behind him, he couldn’t help himself from cracking a derpy smile followed by a series of loud laughter. He got up and saw Kyungsoo nearing him with a pen in his hand, his eyes grew wide as his laugh suddenly died down. 

“I was kidding Soo! Calm down.” Chanyeol cowered behind the couch as he carried his laptop in his arms securely. He knew it was time to retreat back to his room when he watched the evil grin on Kyungsoo’s face. He ran inside hurriedly, shut the door to his room and locked it. 

“Sleep and die out of hunger!” He heard his friend from the other side of the door as he placed his laptop back on his bed. Only a few seconds had passed and he heard his stomach grumble really loud. Remembering to curse Kyungsoo in his dream, he jumped on his rock-hard mattress and covered himself with his warm blanket. The only thing that gave him comfort on this outdated bed of his.

He was broke so you couldn’t really blame him.

 

\-----------

 

“Did you hear the rumor about Kyungsoo and Kai dating?” Sehun startled Chanyeol who was taking his books out of his locker. 

“They are? Since when?” Chanyeol looked curiously over to his two friends who are coming towards him and talking as if no one in the hallway was intensely looking at them.

“Haneul was so furious this morning. I almost laughed at her face,” They both laughed. It was no secret that Lee Haneul, the school’s wannabe, had the hots for Kim Jongin, the school’s hot jock. But everyone believed that she just wanted to be with him because of his status and looks. It must’ve been a shock to know that the guy who she was running after was already with someone else. And to fuel the anger even more, he was with a _guy_. 

“So, how's life?” Jongin smiled as Chanyeol shut his locker and turned to look at the couple in front of him with his eyebrows raised.

“Is it true that you are dating this freak?” Sehun asked the tan male as he pointed at Kyungsoo who was glaring at him. 

“So, what?” Kyungsoo interrupted Jongin as he was going to answer. “If you have a problem then deal with it.” he held Jongin’s hand tightly between his and pulled him a little closer. 

“LOL. I was just confirming. Congratulations!” Sehun laughed and hugged both of his friends tightly and even dared to ruffle Jongin’s hair only to receive a punch on his shoulder.

“I spent _fifteen_ minutes on this!” Jongin whined as he pushed Sehun further away from him.

“No, but seriously,” the three friends stopped bickering to look at Chanyeol, expecting him to continue, “how did you end up with this?”

_Run._

“COME BACK HERE YOU STUPID GIANT! I AM GOING TO CHOP YOU INTO PIECES AND FEED THEM TO MONGGU AND VIVI!” Chanyeol ran for his life while laughing at his best friend running behind him looking like a killer. He could hear Sehun’s faint voice saying, _‘Vivi doesn’t eat humans,’_ followed by Kyungsoo’s annoyed _‘shut up!’_

 

\-------------------

 

“My mom invited you all to my house.” Chanyeol announces as he sat down on their usual lunch table as he craned his neck to see any signs of Baekhyun in the large crowd. 

“Oh yes! Your birthday!” Jongin exclaimed as he bit into a piece of chicken and let the red colored sauce smudge his lips, unaware of the short glares sent by the tallest towards him. Yes, Chanyeol was cursing Jongin for eating his chicken nuggets.

_Even if you like chicken, it still doesn’t mean that you would cook my whole box which I bought with my money._

Chanyeol nodded his head as he continued, “yeah, drop by on Saturday next week and can I hope for gifts?” 

“Of course, you can. You don’t turn 22 every day.” 

Chanyeol smiled as he heard the familiar voice belonging to person who he was looking for, now taking a seat beside him. “Wait. Am I invited?” 

“Nope.” Chanyeol popped the word out of his mouth and bit his lips to stop himself from smiling when he saw a cute pout forming on Baekhyun’s face as he gloomily nodded in response and stared at his cup noodles. 

“Why not? I saw you both on each other yesterday in the pa-”

“What the actual hell, Oh Sehun?!” Chanyeol turned to at his friend with a displeased face. “Why are you stalking me?”

“Chill dude. It’s not my fault that I saw you both together when I was taking a nice peaceful walk with Vivi.” Sehun shrugged as he smirked while looking at Baekhyun who was lowering his face in hopes of covering his flushed face with his fluffy brown hair. “And don’t deny the fact that you did not enjoy the attention.” 

“Mind your own business.” Chanyeol rolled his eyes as he stuffed his hotdog in his mouth. 

It obviously did not go unnoticed by his three friends of how the two idiots sitting in front of them were acting like _idiots_ and avoiding to make any contact with each other. 

 

\------------------

 

“Oh my god. How much does your dog poop, Baekhyun?” Chanyeol questioned as he looked so disgusted by watching Mongryong run away leaving his shit behind, right in front of the kitchen door where Chanyeol was standing. 

“Don’t act as if you never go to the washroom yourself.” Baekhyun stated as he tied a ribbon around Myeonie’s white furry neck. “And it’s not that beautiful to just stare at it. Go clean it fast before the nasty smell spreads.” 

Chanyeol, feeling pity for himself, took a plastic bag and tried getting the dirt in it without making any sort of contact with it. 

After he washed his hands with some dish soap, _‘I just need some sort of soap. I don't mind this thing if it does the works.’_ , he prepared black tea by heating water in the microwave and adding sugar and tea bag to it. Voila! 

_I should try being a chef._

He nods to himself at his thought and picks up the two tea cups and makes his way to the living room where the beast, namely Baekhyun, was sitting flipping through the channels on the TV.

_He is a beauty not a beast. SMH Park Chanyeol._

He mentally shook his head as he placed a cup in front of Baekhyun, who looked up at him suspiciously as he picked up the cup and brought the brim near to his lips. “Are you trying to poison me?”

“If I poison you, then I will be jobless.” 

“Wow. That means you are only my friend for my money.” Baekhyun acted as if he was severely hurt and clutched the fabric around his chest to emphasize his acting. 

“By the way, I was joking earlier today. My mom actually invited you too. Not that she said specifically who to invite, it’s just that she said to invite all my friends so yeah.” Chanyeol rubbed his nape with his left hand while carefully handling the cup of hot tea in his right. 

“Oh?” Baekhyun looked at him, with excitement rushing in his veins, “It’s been so long since I attended a birthday party. Yay! Thank You, Yeol!” Chanyeol was almost on the verge of going blind with the bright smile Baekhyun displayed to him. 

“My mom makes really tasty food so delicious food is confirmed.” After finishing the hot liquid, he kept his cup down and took out his prehistoric phone to message his mom on who would be coming home with him next week. 

“Do you want anything special?” Baekhyun asked as he shifted a little closer to Chanyeol. 

“I don’t know?” he nervously replied as he shifted a little further on the small sofa. Baekhyun smiled evilly and closed the gap between their thighs and shoulders. Chanyeol tensed when he felt Baekhyun’s face coming near his neck and his heart almost jumped out when he felt the smaller’s hot breath on his skin. After taking a deep breath, he stuttered out, “I s-should probably l-leave.”

“But I thought we would be watching a movie today?” Baekhyun whispered as he looked up at Chanyeol, their noses being just a few centimeters apart. Chanyeol blinked rapidly at their distance and could hear his heart beating loudly in his ear. He wouldn’t be surprised if the whole street can hear it. He was on the verge of getting a heart attack when Baekhyun shifted his hand on the other side of his shoulders, successfully trapping Chanyeol between his thin arms. 

Chanyeol stopped breathing as he stared in Baekhyun’s dark brown eyes and felt his throat drying up, “w-what are y-you doing?” 

“What do you think am I doing, Chanyeol?” he smiled and shifted back to his original position, on the other end of the couch, holding a panda squishy in his hand. “You squished Tao,” he squished the plushie for more emphasis and Chanyeol just stared at him, blankly.

“You are so evil!” Chanyeol jumped on him and started tickling his sides, earning a series of laughter from the shorter male as he tried to push Chanyeol away but failed. After a few seconds of suffering, Baekhyun grabbed the thing nearest to him- which happened to be his favorite blanket he always used when watching movies- and threw it on Chanyeol’s face. Surprised with the sudden attack, Chanyeol stopped tickling Baekhyun and tried removing the cloth from his face, which led to Baekhyun kicking his stomach with his small cute legs trying to push away the giant as far as possible from him. 

“Ouch, my stomach hurts.” Chanyeol covered his stomach with his hands to avoid any more kicks from the midget.

“It’s just loads of baby fat.” Baekhyun teased as he poked Chanyeol’s belly and laughed when the taller started to whine.

“Oh my, am I disturbing something?” They both got mini heart attacks when they heard Chen’s voice in the background. They turned around to see Chen standing right behind the sofa giving them a Cheshire smile. “I bought Pizza,” he showed them the two big boxes and continued, “the cashier was super friendly and gave me one pizza for free!”

“That means they were probably flirting with you, hyung.” Baekhyun got the boxes and settled them down on the coffee table. Chen soon came back from the kitchen with plates and glasses and distributed before settling down on Baekhyun’s left side himself. 

“And,” he turned to look at the two younger ones as he holds up a piece of paper, “I also got his number.”

“Wohoo! You will finally go out on a date after 4 years!” Baekhyun exclaimed as he hugged his elder brother who in return slapped his back to make him shut up. 

“What the hell!” the two brothers turned to look at Chanyeol who was pointing at the opened pizza box, “you eat _pineapples_ on a freaking _pizza_?!” 

“It’s tast-”

“Hell no!”

“Well then, you can have the cheese pizza.” Chen passed him the second pizza and to Chanyeol’s relief, it did not have any pineapples on it. When he watched the two brothers enjoy their pizza slice with only one thought running inside his head,

_Pineapples on pizza is freaking gross._

 

\----------

 

“Hello Mrs. Park!” Sehun greeted loudly as he removed his shoes and ran towards Chanyeol’s mother to give her a tight hug.

“Look at how tall you grew.” Mrs. Park ruffled Sehun’s hair as she gave him a motherly smile. “And you,” she turned to Kyungsoo, who passed the heavy box to Jongin just in time, as he was being squished in Mrs. Park’s hug, “You became so thin! Is Chanyeol not buying enough food with the allowance I gave him?”

“He claims to have flies in his wallet.” Chanyeol winced at his mother’s glare towards him as he quickly ran into the kitchen to avoid himself from getting humiliated in front of his friends.

“Oh, Chanyeol brought more friends!” she brought them all inside and yelled at Chanyeol ordering him to _‘go bring water for our guests, you fool._ ’ and turned back to smile at the four young men sweetly.

 

\-----------

 

“Open your presents!” Jongin cheered as he handed Chanyeol a box wrapped up in blue glitter paper. “I wrapped it by myself!” he proclaimed proudly as Chanyeol smiled and tried to neatly remove the gift wrapper. To Chanyeol’s surprise, it was a box of chicken nuggets. He laughed remembering how angry he was when he got to know about Kyungsoo cooking his nuggets for Jongin. “I got to know that you were really upset when I ate yours so now I gave you back what was rightfully yours.” 

“Thanks man.” He laughed and gave Jongin a bro hug and turned to Kyungsoo, anticipating his gift.

“I made the cake for you.” Kyungsoo pointed at the double chocolate cake kept on the table.

“No way.” Chanyeol gasped as he went to hug his best friend and lifted him off the floor, “even if you are so mean to me, I still love you...as a friend of course.” Kyungsoo patted his back and silently threatened Chanyeol to put him down before he strangles him to death. Not wanting to die on his birthday, Chanyeol chuckled and put his friend down quickly. 

“I helped him make it!” Sehun stood up from the dining chair and came forward to hug his tall friend, “I know you love me a lot. But since I am being extra generous today, I bought you another gift.”

Chanyeol beamed with happiness as he excitedly removed the wrapping to look at the mini frame of a blurred picture. He tried hard to understand what the picture is about when it suddenly clicked, “You bastard! And you say you are NOT A STALKER!” he punched Sehun hard on his shoulder and ignored his friend crying in pain. 

“What is it?” Baekhyun stood on his tiptoes trying to look over Chanyeol’s huge frame to see what Sehun had given him, but Chanyeol flicked his forehead and hurriedly wrapped the gift with the torn wrappers surrounding him. Baekhyun pouted but handed him the gift he bought. 

“Wow, a turtle!” Chanyeol exclaimed as he examined the animal in the medium sized cage and jumped when the midget pinched his biceps.

“It’s a tortoise.” 

“Oh,” he looks back at the animal, now observing it from a different angle, and rolled his eyes at his mom and his friends laughing at him. “It does look like a tortoise haha. Thanks. Now let’s go eat food.”

“So, you are not going to hug him? Mean.” Mrs. Park shook her head in disappointment as Sehun pushed Chanyeol to hug Baekhyun. To get over it quickly, Chanyeol wrapped his long lanky arms around Baekhyun’s small body. Not wanting to show his red flushed face, Baekhyun buried his head in Chanyeol’s chest and returned the hug. 

“Okay that’s good,” Kyungsoo came in between and forced them to break the hug, “let’s go eat, I’m hungry.” Chanyeol rolled his eyes at his best friend’s behavior. Knowing that Kyungsoo was totally not one of those who likes chick flick novels or movies, he claimed to be utterly disgusted watching people fall in love all the time. But Chanyeol knew that whatever his friend speaks, it’s rubbish. And Chanyeol could prove how much he enjoyed the concept of love no matter how many puking actions he makes.

“Chicken!” 

 

\------------

 

Throughout the whole dinner, everyone kept chatting about different topics and laughing on silly matters, mostly on the dumb things Chanyeol did. When Chanyeol had inquired to his mother about Yoora- of whether she is coming or not, he got to know that Yoora had never planned on attending in the first place because of so much pressure from work. But she had promised that she would take a leave for Christmas to spend some time with her family and to give Chanyeol his presents.

And of course, it was not ignored by the people sitting around the dining table of how Chanyeol kept offering food to Baekhyun, well except for themselves. It had been a few minutes since Kyungsoo, Jongin and Sehun left. Baekhyun was waiting in the living room for Chen to pick him up while talking to Mrs. Park. 

“Why don’t you go and drop him, Chanyeol?” Mrs. Park suggested as she turned to her left to look at Chanyeol who was watching the tortoise sleep. 

“But Jongdae hyung is going to pick him up.” he replied not moving his attention from the animal who was resting in his small space.

“Umm… hyung is actually busy right now, but I can go alone, it’s not like I am a kid.” Baekhyun shrugged as he stood up to wear his shoes.

“Oh no, you don’t. You should not go alone at this time, Chanyeol will drop you.” His mom stood up too to follow Baekhyun. And pulled Chanyeol with her to the main door.

“But then what about me? How will I come back?” Chanyeol questioned as he lazily started slipping his feet in his shoes.

“You are not a small boy, and you can go back to your apartment too.” His mom patted his back and gave him a few bills, “Keep this money and buy some groceries and snacks for you and your friends. Study well and come home for Christmas.” 

“Bye mom,” he kissed his mom’s forehead and turned to leave his house.

“You too Baekhyun, come here for Christmas.” She smiled and ruffled his hair. After Baekhyun excitedly saying ‘sure’, he waved his hand for the last time and ran after Chanyeol who was waiting for him on the patio. Mrs. Park smiled at the retreating back and hoped Chanyeol would not let this chance go out of his hands. After all, mothers know their kids the best. 

 

\---------

 

The bus dropped them at a station ten minutes away from Baekhyun’s house so they walked as they talked about what name would suit the tortoise Baekhyun gave him. 

“If you and Jongdae hyung were not home then who is looking after your pets?” Chanyeol wondered.

“The old lady living in that house,” Baekhyun pointed at a house right across his and continued, “She said she likes them and is willing to look after them when I am not at home. I’ll bring them back tomorrow morning.”

“So, you pay her too?” Chanyeol asked as they stood in front of Baekhyun’s main door as the smaller searched for the keys in his pocket.

“Nah. oh wait-” he turned to face him and passed him a brown envelope, “your wage, Jongdae hyung’s present.” Chanyeol eyes shined bright as he took the envelope and looked at the front which read,

_To the best zookeeper (lol), Happy Birthday._

He chuckled at the small greeting and shifted his focus to Baekhyun who was removing his shoes after he entered the house. 

“Do you want to stay the night?” The midget offered.

“W-what? I’ll pass, maybe next time.” He fiddled with the hem on his t-shirt and looked at the cage he was carrying in his left hand. 

“Oh, okay then,” Baekhyun skipped to Chanyeol in his socked feet and stood on his toes to leave a soft peck on the giant’s cheek. “Good night. See you on Monday.” he smiled and shut the door quickly on Chanyeol’s face. 

Shocked. 

Was Chanyeol’s current state. His brain was malfunctioning, and his heart was a mess. He turned on his heels started walking to his flat as he replayed the heart fluttering scene in his mind. A small smile played on his lips as he touched his cheek where the midget had kissed. 

“Do you think I like him?” he asks Squirtle, his tortoise, as they walk on the street on a chilly winter night. 

He deeply thought about what he felt for Baekhyun, but his mind was not working at the moment. So he went for his second option.

He read it somewhere that when taking a bath, you could always sort out matters and things that you want to do in the future. After making sure that the water was warm enough not to burn his skin, he slipped in under the shower head. 

_I hope shower works because I don’t have a bathtub to take a bath in._

It did help, but not as much as what Chanyeol hoped for. After some fifteen minutes, he came to a conclusion that somewhere deep down in his heart, he was, and still is, attracted to Byun Baekhyun. But when he thought about being with him, his admirer came in his mind bringing him back to being a total mess. 

_I am so confused. I can’t make up my mind._

 

\---------------

 

When Monday rolled in, he was up surprisingly early. He left at six only to reach the campus by half past six. He walked on his way because he needed some fresh air and also some early morning breakfast- for which he stopped at a local bakery and bought 2 butter croissants that just left the oven. He was thinking about going to the library to waste his time because school doesn’t start till eight but was stopped when he saw a short petite figure standing in front of his locker trying to stick a heart sticker. 

With widened eyes, he rushed to his locker and turned the girl around to meet Hae Won.They were in the same class in their senior year of high school. 

“I a-am speechless.” He was surprised to an extent such that he didn’t notice how uncomfortable Hae Won was with his hands gripping her shoulders. 

“Huh? Don’t touch me.” She brushed his hands off and looked funnily at him. “What are you talking about?” 

“IT’S YOU! I FINALLY CAUGHT YOU! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I WAS WAITING FOR THIS DAY TO CO-” 

“Are you crazy?” 

“Yes! Almost. Waiting to find who you we-” he was cut again by the girl.

“Oh god, I got the wrong locker.” she rubbed her temple and looked at Chanyeol with pity in her eyes, “I don’t know who you are looking for, but it’s definitely not me. Do you by chance know where Jong Suk's locker is?” she questioned. Chanyeol deflated as he pointed at the locker beside his. 

Hae Won turned around to remove the sticker from Chanyeol’s locker and put it on the one beside his and turned to pat him on his shoulder, “Hey, don’t be sad. You will get to find this person soon.” She smiled and left Chanyeol’s side. 

There were only a few students who come in this early so the hallways were unusually quiet. He pouted as he made his way to his lecture room instead of the library hoping to get some sleep before his friends came. 

He was, of course, totally unaware of someone who had hastily hid themselves behind the nearest locker around the corner when Chanyeol had rushed to the girl. 

He sighed and calmed down his rapidly beating heart as he placed his hand on his chest and looked at the cute green envelope in his other hand. After he was sure that no one was around, he took quick strides to face the locker he had been facing since last year and had finally got the guts to leave notes from this semester. 

_There is only one more year left till I graduate, and I am not leaving this place without having you._

 

\----------

 

Chanyeol skipped his lunch because Kyungsoo reminded him on their way to the cafeteria about the research they had to do for psychology so he went to the library. When he reached the library and got the permission to use one of the computers, he took out his psychology notebook and looked at the topic. 

Topic: How To Detect If Someone Likes You. 

Being a lazy lamb that he is, he put the whole topic on google and clicked the first link. 

 

~~0~~  
WikiHow tells how to know if someone is attracted to you.

Method1: Watch Their Body Language.  
Most of the time the conversation will be nonverbal, it will have more of actions than the actual talk. Women will try to close the distance between the two with tricks like ‘lemme show you this picture’. Men on the other hand will push their shoulders back to come out as mighty. And some even hook their fingers in the belt loops to look cool. Eye-contact is one of the strongest ways to tell if the person is into you that is only if they try to look in your eyes for a short time. If they are trying to hold the eye contact for a long time, back off. It’s a creep. 

Method2: Detecting Friends’ feelings.  
Sometimes, friends can turn out to be more than friends. Here are some signs that a friend has fallen for you:  
1) Touching your shoulders and ask for hugs.  
2) Offering their sweater or coat in a chivalrous way.  
3) Making jokes about the people/person you are dating.  
3) Inviting you over more often.  
4) Kissing you on the cheek or asking for kisses on the cheek.  
5) Asking who you like, a lot.  
It’s great if you want to turn your friendship into a relationship but if you want to stay as friends then it’s better to just speak your feelings out and come to a conclusion together.

Method3: Spotting a Shy One or A Blatant Crush.  
The shy ones are usually people who don’t date often and when they date they keep the relation for a long while. They say their ‘hey’ quietly for you to notice them and will blush when to talk or touch them. They will even ask help for things they already know the answers to. They will bump into you slightly or even take a seat next to you even if there are other options available.  
On the other hand, Blatant crush is the easiest to find. The person will constantly talk to you, blush at the smallest things, will do the silliest things to make you notice them and show no fear of starting a conversation with you. 

We Hope the Article Helped You.  
~~0~~

 

Chanyeol just stared at the screen trying to analyze how Baekhyun acted around him but came back to reality when someone sat on the computer beside his. He quickly printed out the article and kept it with his books. Right when he steps outside the library, the sound of the bell ringing went off, signaling the end of lunch break. Sighing in frustration that he didn’t get to eat anything, he took out the packet of crisps from his bag and munched on it on his way to his next class. He dropped by his locker to keep the previous books and found a green envelope slip out when he opened his locker. He instantly picked up the green envelope sealed with a turtle sticker on it.

_Wait. A tortoise. Just like my tortoise, Squirtle._

He quickly opened it and read,

Dear Chanyeol

_I am sorry couldn’t get this to you since we had no class yesterday._

Inside the envelope there was a candy wrapped in… a candy wrapper.

Oh…. how he wished he knew who this person was. And when he had thought he had finally found his admirer, it turned out he was wrong. He sighed thinking back to the event that happened early this morning and shut his lockers and leaves.

 

\---------

 

Baekhyun was worried. _Really_ worried. He looked towards Chanyeol who looked all gloomy with a dark aura radiating from him. 

_What’s up with him today?_

“Chanyeol!” he called out to him. “Chanyeol! Yah Chanyeol-ah!! Yeol! YODA!”

Chanyeol snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Baekhyun who was waving his hands wildly in front of his face. He didn’t realize he had been constantly staring at Baekhyun until the latter cleared his throat. 

“Tsk. What’s up with you today? You seem really upset about something. Is something bothering you?” Baekhyun inquired.

Chanyeol was hesitant at first but then he started, “I-I have been getting messages from a person for a while. These messages are not what’s bothering me, in fact they cheer me up so much. I just don’t know who this person is, I thought I had finally found out my secret admirer when I saw this girl putting up a sticker on my locker. But she just mistook my locker for someone else.” He looked up at Baekhyun when he finished and found a tomato looking Baekhyun who was not meeting his eyes.

“Baekhyun are you okay? Your face looks heated...are you perhaps having a fever?” He got up to touch Baekhyun’s forehead but the latter quickly moved away.

“E-everything is al-alright Chanyeol. I think y-you should go back.” Baekhyun stuttered out. Before Chanyeol could open his mouth to tell Baekhyun to shut up and rest, Baekhyun quickly pushed him out of the house, leaving a very stunned Chanyeol outside.

 

\-------

 

It’s finally Christmas and Chanyeol’s mom suggested on inviting all of Chanyeol’s friends and their family for a Christmas feast. All of his friends came including Baekhyun and Jongdae. Jongdae was not going to attend at first because he knew that all kids are going to be there, but then he tagged along because of the puppy face his little brother made.

Chanyeol spotted Baekhyun in red reindeer jumper. _He looks so cuteee._ Before he could call out his name, he found the midget had vanished from the earlier spot. He finally found Baekhyun standing in front of the fireplace warming himself up. 

“Merry Christmas, Baekhyun.” he wished and smiled widely at Baekhyun.

“Merry Christmas to you too, Chanyeol.” The elder replied back shyly.

Before Chanyeol could say anything, all his friends came, “If you two lovebirds are done gawking at each other, can we start exchanging gifts?” Sehun said.

“It’s nothing like that!” Chanyeol defended as his face flushed and his ear slowly turning red.

They all exchanged gifts. Kyungsoo kept on fidgeting when he noticed that Jongin was going to open the gift he gave him, but was soon relieved when he found Jongin smiling while holding the watch, that his mom helped him choose, in his hand. He hugged Jongin back when the younger squished him in his arms and kissed his cheeks. 

“That’s disgusting.” Baekhyun gagged as everyone laughed around them. 

Whenever Chanyeol tried to get closer to Baekhyun, the midget would shy away. The others were really amused by their actions while Sehun was internally squealing. When everyone was settled on the sofa in the living room now lit with fairy lights, with mugs of hot chocolate in their hands getting ready to start the marathon for the series of Harry Potter, Jongdae stood up and clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention, 

“I sadly need to leave now. Thank You for inviting me Mrs. Park,” he beamed at Chanyeol’s mother happily and continued, “I hope you all really liked the presents which me and Baekhyun gave it to you all!” Everyone cheered as they thanked him for the cool presents he gifted them and hugged him as they said their goodbyes. 

“Can I share a blanket with you?” Baekhyun manned up and asked Chanyeol who was sitting beside him on the floor. 

“But there is one still left,” Chanyeol turned to look beside the CD cabinet to find Kyungsoo taking the last blanket. “Fine, we can share.” 

Baekhyun smiled as he settled himself comfortably under the fluffy yellow blanket. The living room became quiet as soon as the movie began. Mrs. Park left the kids alone in the house saying that she was going to greet her relatives via phone call and to prepare more snacks. 

Looking at his friends laughing around him was one sight that soothed Chanyeol. He smiled to himself and felt Baekhyun’s cold hands under the blanket. Without thinking twice, he laced their fingers together and did not turn to look at the shorter when the other turned to look at him with face covered in surprise. Baekhyun smiled and shifted closer than he already was to Chanyeol as he tried to calm his abnormally beating heart. 

 

\-------------

 

Chanyeol sighed dejectedly when he read the message he received from Kyungsoo last night.

 **FROM: _Hedwig_**  
Music club meeting tomorrow at noon in music room. Need to discuss a few things. 

It’s half past eleven when Chanyeol entered his University and looked around to see snow, snow, snow and more snow. The ground, trees and the benches were covered with a thick layer of snow. The fountain, which was in middle, had stopped flowing, and the water was frozen to the bottom. Only a narrow path to the main entrance was shoveled so that people could at least get inside than freeze to death in the harsh winter. He hoped the meeting was worth all the travel in this weather. 

He was surprised to find a sticky note on his locker. Finally, his insides was filling with hope as he looked around to see if he could find anyone but was quite disappointed when he failed to do so. He removed the pink sticky note from his locker and let his eyes skim through the letters. 

_You know where to find me today, we have always known each other and at some point, worked together too. I’ll be sitting on the first seat._

“So, this person is in the music club too?” his eyes widened at the realization and read the note again to see if he had read it wrong. 

Who could it be? He had worked with hundreds of people his whole life, or should he just count his three years in this university only? 

Shrugging his shoulders, he hurried his steps to reach the class quickly as he held the note in his hands. When he entered the class, without looking anywhere or at anyone, he looked at the people sitting on the first seat but instantly got confused when he noticed that there are three columns. There were six seats in the front from which five were occupied. 

Standing in the front of the class, he looked to his left to find Hae Won and her friend in the first column. He remembered Hae Won saying that she was not interested in him, but when he looked at her friend closely he noticed that it was the girl who was his marketing partner in one of the projects for his first year. 

_We never talked after the project ended so I guess it’s not her?_

In the second column, first seat, there was a guy with bowl haircut. If he remembered properly the guy’s name is Jungkook but then he remembered seeing his Instagram update like 2 months ago with a caption which said he is celebrating his 2 years anniversary with his mate. 

_If he is already taken then isn’t it obvious that he is not the one?_

Then he noticed the guy sitting beside Jungkook scribbling something on a _pink sticky note_. He rushed to the guy and stood in front of his table. Jungkook and the other guy stopped their conversation when they noticed him and looked up to ask him if they could help him.

“This thing,” he showed them the note in his hand, “Did you write it?” 

“Hyung, almost everyone has these.” Jungkook pointed out. 

Chanyeol pouted and went to look to his right for the last column when he was suddenly pulled out of the club room and was taken to a deserted hallway. When he was cornered on the wall, he noticed the person standing in front of him was intensely glaring at him. 

_Baekhyun._

He ignored his heart racing with Baekhyun standing so close to him, “Baekhyun! Why did you pull me out of the class?! I need to look for someone!” he said trying to get rid of the midget’s hold. He turned to his heels to head back towards the music club room, but Baekhyun caught his hands and blocked his way, looking at him with cheeks flushed soft pink.

 _He looks like a strawberry mochi._ \\(OwO)/

“You don’t need to go anywhere. Do you still not realize?!” Baekhyun said as Chanyeol looked at him dumbly. Chanyeol stared at Baekhyun who had his hands into tight fists, staring back at him incredulously.

Baekhyun looked like a ripe strawberry, started hitting Chanyeol on his chest softly.

“Why are you so dumb?! You big eared buffoon! Even after I left the message that you would find me sitting right in front, you just stared around stupidly!” he said gasping.

“You mean to say that… You are the on-”

“OH MY GOD. YES, IT WAS ME. DO NOT TEST MY PATIENCE PARK CHANYEOL. I am the one who left you those messages every day! It first started when I just wanted to be your friend, but my feelings slowly changed into something else…” he confessed, looking up at Chanyeol who was staring at him with wide eyes. “I have liked you for so long. And now since we are getting close to our last year in college, I thought I should build up my courage and befriend you. I really like you Chanyeol. I didn’t come out because I was afraid you wouldn’t return the same feelings. And even if you don’t... It-it’s okay! I just wanted you to know...”

Chanyeol stares at him with his mouth agape.

 _Is he going to reject me? Pfft. I should have guessed, who can like a weirdo like me?_ Baekhyun thought while closing his eyes and letting his shoulders fall when he didn’t get any reply.

“Chanyeol. I-it’s okay. I am sorr-”, but before Baekhyun could finish his sentence, he found himself silenced by a press of soft warm lips on his. Baekhyun felt sparks in his body, as his heart was racing wildly. He could feel Chanyeol’s heart beating as fast as his and couldn’t help but feel giddy and so relieved.

 _Am I dreaming?_ Baekhyun questioned himself, and held Chanyeol tightly as he shyly kissed him back.

Chanyeol felt a fire igniting within his body, his mind going crazy with Baekhyun in his arms.

 _Am I dreaming?_ He felt his mind and heart going at ease having found out that it was Baekhyun all along.

He separated from Baekhyun, catching his breath, and looked back at the bright eyes staring at him. “I like you too Baekhyun.” he said, smiling widely at the midget.

 _Looks like I am not leaving this place empty handed after all._ Baekhyun beamed at the giant and jumped to hug the life out of him. The tables have turned. It was now going to be Baekhyun who hugs the life out of his now boyf-

“Does that mean you are my boyfriend now?” Baekhyun asked as he breathes in the lemon cologne from the giant’s shoulder, too shy to ask the something so _different_ face-to-face. 

“Yes, I guess? Only if you want to I mean wh-”

“Shut up Chanyeol and hug me back” Baekhyun cannot rub the smile off his face and it only brightened more when he felt his _boyfriend_ wrapping his arms around his waist. 

“Will I still get my pay though?” Chanyeol joked as he pulled away and cried in pain when Baekhyun hit him hard on his chest.

“I would still date you even if you were a homeless muggle living under some bridge.”

“Are you indirectly telling me that some kind of a weird ki-”

“What the actual hell PARK CHANYEOL?! GET LOST BEFORE I BREAK YOUR NOSE.” Chanyeol laughed as he made a run for his life, made his way back to the music room and opened the door harshly to hide quickly inside. 

“You are here so _early_ ,” Kyungsoo smiled at Chanyeol who smiled back in return and was going to speak when the shorter continued, “I’ll break your teeth one day if you keep smiling like that, idiot. The meeting is _over_ , go die.” The glare directed to him sent shivers down Chanyeol’s spine. He quickly shut his mouth and entered the room to take a seat on the table beside Baekhyun’s stuff. 

“May I come in?” Baekhyun appeared in the doorway and smiled sheepishly at Kyungsoo.

“Sure, but the meeting is over anyway so you all can leave if you want to.” He turned to look at all the members of the club and nodded in acknowledgement before taking his bag and exited the class with Luhan. Baekhyun glared at their backs and cursed them inside his brain, _‘my friends ditched me, great.’_

“Because of you, I need to deal with him in my apartment.” Chanyeol pouted as he looked at Baekhyun.

“Not my fault. He is your best friend.” he laughed evilly, took his bag and quickly dashed outside.

 

\----------

 

“I can’t believe that you are actually having a birthday party for your _little Munchkin_. If she is turning 12, she is not little anymore,” Chanyeol shuddered as he looked at the tarantula who had a crown on her head as she was placed on top of her cage - which was decorated with colorful confetti. “What am I even doing here?” he sighed as he looked at the coffee table which was full of snacks, drinks and a _birthday cake._

“I still don’t know whose birthday it is.” Sehun whispered to Kyungsoo who was arranging the glasses on the table and received a hard jab in his stomach. His face crunched in pain as he supported himself with the help of the nearest sofa. 

“Why is your music club here?” Jongin questioned Kyungsoo as he scanned around the living room to find Jungkook, Taehyung, Haewon and Jisoo who were leaning on the wall and taking pictures to post on their Instagram. When he saw Taehyung kiss Jungkook’ s cheek and wrap his arms around his waist as the latter took a selfie, Jongin blinked in surprise and looked at his tiny boyfriend. 

“Baekhyun wanted a tiny choir to sing the birthday song, so I invited them over.” Kyungsoo replied as he sat beside Luhan who was showing Sehun pictures of him and Baekhyun from before on his iPhone 7+. 

“Okay everyone,” Chen clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention and pointed to the man standing beside him, “This is Kim Minseok, my boyfie, and he is really shy yet sexy and it kills me. But that’s not my point, gather around so we can cut the cake. I am hungry.”

Everyone chuckled as they gathered around the table and waited for Baekhyun to get the star of the show. When Baekhyun brought his little Munchkin- Aragog- forward, everyone clapped and started singing the birthday song with _harmony_ of course. The majority of the people here were from the music club and they know that they would get slaughtered by Kyungsoo if they get any note wrong from their two days of constant practice. After Baekhyun blew the candles and cut the cake, everyone clapped and whooped. 

Baekhyun set the tarantula down on top of her cage and kept a plate of _fresh flies_ in front of her. Chanyeol gagged and remembered his uneventful morning where he was kicked in the little jungle again to collect _food_ for the hairy monster. He shuddered thinking about it and turned head to look at the appealing cake instead. 

“I want a side piece, I love frosting.” Chen said as he cuts a huge slice and put it on his plate. 

“You cheater, that’s not fair.” Sehun whined as he went to grab the knife to cut a slice for him but was slightly pushed aside by Kyungsoo who instead took the knife and cut equal slices for everyone. 

When Baekhyun bent down to take a handful of crisps on his plate, Chanyeol shamelessly stared at his boyfriend’s back as a scene replayed in his mind. “Looks like your butt workout worked,” he commented as he took a bite of the fruit cake.

Shocked, Baekhyun quickly composed himself as he turned around to look at Chanyeol with wide eyes, “What are you talking about? I said no such thing to you, ever.” 

“Oh babe, but you did. When you were drunk that one-time last year.” Chanyeol smirked and watched red color cover his midget’s cheeks. 

“Shut up.”

_“I’ll go ready his bed. Just bring him inside if you don’t mind.” Chanyeol nodded as Jongdae ran upstairs. When he was busy removing the elder’s jacket, Chanyeol froze when he felt the hot exhale of breath. He looked up to realize just how close they were right now._

_“I have been wearing this tight-as-hell jeans for a week now for someone to notice my ass,” Baekhyun whispered as he looked straight in Chanyeol’s eyes, leaving the giant shocked. “My butt workout was a fail then. I worked so hard but even you didn’t notice any difference in my body.” Chanyeol tried to not let his mind wander in that direction and kept his gaze on the shorter’s face._

 

Chanyeol smiled and sat down to ruffle Mongryong’ s hair when the dog barked at him. He laughed as he remembered the first time he stepped in this household, destroyed the main door and got terrified seeing the animals. He wouldn’t have even thought that these tiny monsters and their tinier master would become a very relevant part of his life. His second family. 

“Everyone gather up, we need to take a picture for a memory!” Chen gathered everyone to sit on the sofa. And settled the camera on a tripod with a timer, “We have ten seconds!” 

Everyone rushed around and pushed each other to make sure their face is visible in the photo. Chanyeol squished himself between Luhan and Minseok and pulled Baekhyun to sit on his lap after the latter had put the tarantula on the table.

The shutter clicked right when Luhan tilted his head to give a flirty smile not knowing that his hair went in Chanyeol’s mouth. Chanyeol on the other hand had a frown on his face as he tried removing the hair from his mouth. 

_Our first group photo and life does me so bad._

“Don’t worry, we can take many more photos together.” Baekhyun smiled as he turned around to kiss Chanyeol’s frown away. That’s all it took to bring back the smile on Chanyeol’s face as he looked in his boyfriend’s eyes.

“Can you both stop eye-raping each other?” Chen complained as he pretended to vomit. 

“Fuck off.” Chanyeol smiled and leaned in to close the gap between him and Baekhyun. The kiss was soft, just like all the other ones they shared. He ignored the _‘ewwws’_ and _‘what the hells’_ from their friends and focused on Baekhyun’s lips instead that were curling up in a smile.

_Yup. Definitely the best thing that has happened to me. But I really need to find a brush cutter to remove that small jungle in the backyard. I hate it._


End file.
